


(I'm So Desperate For) Your Sweet Affliction

by CatCalls



Series: 'Cause In The Dark Of The Dance (Here You Are Already Mine) [1]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Asexual Character, Blood and Violence, Dark, Gore, Horror, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Manipulation, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Obsessive Behavior, One-Sided Attraction, Psychological Torture, Rape/Non-con Elements, Suicidal Thoughts, Swearing, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-08 12:30:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21476044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatCalls/pseuds/CatCalls
Summary: "Despite it all, Alastor was no stranger to the concept of romance."
Relationships: Alastor/Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Husk & Niffty (Hazbin Hotel)
Series: 'Cause In The Dark Of The Dance (Here You Are Already Mine) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1556872
Comments: 88
Kudos: 310





	1. Ten Thousand Candles Couldn't Light (All The Darkness In Your Heart)

**Author's Note:**

> There's Murder Ideation and generally a very irky train of thought going on in this fic, sorry, also, it's probably kinda OoC, so, sorry about that too.

Despite it all, Alastor was no stranger to the concept of romance.

He remembered, from the time he was alive, his own childhood sweetheart, a petite girl of bright eyes and a cute smile that made his heart flutter excitedly on his ribcage, she had bled so prettily when he had cut her open and carved out her heart. It was still one of his happiest memories, the perfect example of the consummation of _ love, _certainly, what could be more meaningful that cradling between your hands the heart you cherish? There could not be anything with the same intent.

Of that, Alastor was sure, because of the rush of intense pleasure, the affection, the determination to take such a leap of faith...

Even though, despite his certainty, he couldn't help but wonder what then caused the obvious discrepancies between the showcasing of his tenderness and that of the others couples that surrounded him, perhaps he should not mind it so much, seeing his own distaste for something supposedly fundamental like sex. Meaningless. Disgusting.

By the good graces of misery, he could not understand the fixation with it.

But alas, that only helped to prove just how much more he knew about the proper ways of acting upon fondness, the proper way of making a lover feel appreciated and cared for. Then why…

Why exactly did his methods felt so unsatisfying when he tried to picture them unfurling with the newest victim of his interest?

Could it be he was mistaking the detour that was being taken by his emotions?

But what else could the incessant affliction to his attentions be? The unyielding need, the voracious yearning?

It was _ love. _Of course, how silly to doubt it.

Even if he wasn’t sure from where it had taken origin, viciously and seemingly out of nowhere consuming his ability to properly concentrate, putting in jeopardy the balance of his inspiration, affecting him, being a salacious mockery! But oh, so sweet!

And perhaps that made its origins something irrelevant, just a secondary effect of his recent project, it was the hotel, after all, the thing that have brought him to spend so much time around the other demon. To notice with exactitude all the minor details that were so captivating about him, how profound was his character aside the drinking and the gambling.

Oh, but Alastor was being unfair with his own perceptions, he had noticed just how special the younger male was from the moment they had met. For the cold defiance, the lack of fear, the temper, fierce and unforgiving and that violence, the aggressive tempo of tired annoyance and uncensored hatred ready to be unleashed at the minor sign of ill intent. The nihilistic tendencies, pragmatism incarnated, and the quiet surge of passion from under the ashes of an existence partly drowned by alcohol that never fully numbed the troubled expanses of a sinner weighted by regrets and unresolved tensions. A bundle of simplicity and contradictions.

Ah.

For being such an expert at gambling, Husk really had the horrid habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve. Then again, little Husker never really actively tried to hide his true feelings, did he?

Goodness gracious, no.

Be it distaste, contempt, fascination or satisfaction, the cat demon wore every single one of his expressions sultry and freely, blunt and uncaring of whoever was there to see them. Being out of laziness to keep appearance, or lack of care because of genuine disinterest, Alastor could not yet tell. But he found it particularly irritating if not charming in his own way.

After all, smiling was a sign of power, and Husk rarely smiled, and despite that, he was no weakling. There was a certain kind of power in that of not caring, of being so apathetic to your surroundings that the idea of displaying a persona was seen as a complete waste, it was authentic, even if not that unique.

Still refreshing, in a way. In regard of the origin of the emotions displayed and their intent, which was keeping others from being bothersome in his direction, or not at all, aside from being true to his own experience.

The fact that they have fought in the past, with the winged cat not faltering before him, was another proof he had to testify to that power. Upholding his respect, and most likely, paving the way to the surge of this new bundle of feelings.

However, there was no remorse or regret when it came down to the being chosen to uphold his affections, there were a few things he would like to change, obviously, for example, the lack of smiles despite all the thought put into it, for a curvature on the lips was such a raw display, and those few he had managed to catch out of the moments of short joy that Husk lived were just so swell, no amount of reasoning or excuses could atone to not seeing more of them.

There were other minor details, too, but mostly the lack of interest that the other demon showed him in return. He was well respected but of course, Husk liked few things in his current existence, and Alastor was not really between any of them, he was no gambling or cheap booze, even when he could provide both of those things, but wasn’t that a grummy reason to be put into someone's consideration? And he could do so much better than just mop about it too, perhaps, he needed to make his own attraction be known. A good ol’ fashioned courting needed to get things to move towards his purpose. To ensure he will catch the eye of his little doll as much as he caught his.

What could come next was still full of fuzzy propositions and half-finished directions, he could easily cut Husk open and make him bleed oh so prettily for him, he could mark him with his claws and teeth, see him cry and scream and beg, beg for him to reclaim his heart… he could do so much, really, but none of the options felt that fulfilling or all that special. There was something else he wished for, the sweet attentions aside, the tenderness that came from it, he sometimes thought, but shook the notion out more often than not, could it be though?

Crave the intimacy he never really wished for, even when alive? All the goofy stuff couples usually do? So vain. The cuddling? The pet names? So ridiculous.

Ah, his dearest Husky most truly be messing with him, it mattered not, though, for he would make sense of all the jumbled notions and come to the perfect solution. He was nothing if not efficient and resourceful, after all, and the cat would never know what was lurking in the shadows of his cold and unforgiving indifference until it was far too late to stupidly attempt to escape.

As of now, Alastor mussed, he should probably cut his observation and daydreaming for the evening, the hotel was not going to run itself, and it was risky to have someone catch up to his intentions before he was ready to put them into motion. But soon, soon he was going to be ready.

His usual smile became sharper, promising and directed towards the demon idly resting against the countertop of the reception, blatantly ignoring him, but that would change soon, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, this was probably not good but, like, thank you for reading!
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!


	2. Threnody

Hell was loud, chaotic and unyielding, utter havoc, destructive and consuming, it could finish you off in a second with no more after thought or care, or whatever kind of pitiful excuse of moralistic mourning Earth insisted to teach the ungrateful souls that had the misfortune of roaming around it for a lifetime. Husk has learned all of this easy and quick enough after being condemned, adapting in a way that spoke of lack of care and concern, his life before was already pretty fucked, the change of scenario and a thousand of few disgusting characters meanted little to nothing to him, perhaps, the biggest change had been his stupid appearance, there was something incredibly ironic and humorless about becoming a fucking cat with idiotic red wings, but at least his new body wouldn’t wither away under the weight of cheap alcohol, and it was kinda worth to tolerate his ridiculous complexion every morning just because of being able to poison himself to his desire.

The body of a demon, as he had learned a little after turning into one, was very resilient.

You could be burned, crushed, dismembered and suffer a multitude of other fucked up things of the sort, and still make it out. Most of the time. If an angelic weapon was included in any part of those processes, well, you could consider yourself royally screwed.

Not that Husk minded that information, for the most part, he tended to stay out of the businesses of assholes that could get a hold of that sort of shit, and he had enough contacts and common sense to avoid the yearly exterminations. Since his motivations were not that impressive to begin with, no one actively sought out to hurt him, the fact that he had built himself a reputation and managed to get the ’favor’ of some big names in hell, really managed to ensure that he was safe of any permanent harm from occurring to him.

Even if that wasn’t the case, the idea of ceasing to exist was not actually that terrifying to him either. It was stupid, in a way, worrying about something that could happen at any given moment, specially considering the amount of bullshit and jackassery that tended to go around in the most _ normal _ of days, not to mention that despite his fucked up coping mechanisms, a few tendrils of _ trauma, _dark and sickening and horrible, sometimes managed to sneak through the sweet stupor of alcohol that he tried to uphold, making him shudder and weep, very pathetically and stupidly, really.

But the moments when that happened were few and far in between, the drinking and gambling helped to ensure that, and Husk usually managed to keep himself apathetic, uncaring or angry, depending on the situation and people he was forced to interact with.

As it stood, _ angry _ had been his default mode for a few months now, since he ended up forced into ’working’ in the blasted excuse of a hotel which intention was the shittiest thing he had ever heard. _ Charity work, _ for fucks sake, hell was supposed to be the place where concepts as fake and stupid as those were left to rot and be mocked.

Thinking about how he ended up getting dragged to this accursed situation only because fucking _ Alastor _decided to play the shittiest prank on the history of bad comedy, made his temper even worse. Was it not for all the drinks he had access to now, he would have surely murdered someone already.

Being that motherfucking horny spider, one of the clients that insisted to make stupid questions or, in some hopeful fever dream, the Radion Demon himself.

Dingy little bastard, Husk hated him to the Pit in the worst days, in the best of them, he mildly enjoyed his company. All in all, behind his sadistic tendencies, general shitty assholic demeanor and terrible sense of humor, Alastor knew how to have a good time and get away with it. And in a few occasions, extremely few being completely fair, as the cat demon could count them with claws to spare, he actually proved a fully pleasant company.

But in the great scheme of things, those lame ass moments meanted shit.

Husk grunted, feeling his fur bristle and wings perk up in agitation, the feeling of being _ watched _ coming yet again, he didn't understand where all of that damned nerves and paranoia were coming from, but the sensation made his skin crawl the same way _ keeping watch on the barracks during the war and… _

He scowled, taking another swing of the bottle in his hand, groaning in disappointment when he felt the last of the liquid passing through his lips and glaring at the clock adorning one of the walls, he couldn’t wait for his fucking shift to be over, despite it all he actively tried to keep his buzz consumption to an _ acceptable _degree if only to avoid getting nagged by the princess or her feral girlfriend, but that only fucked him over when his fucking feelings refused to stay dead and inside of him, as it was the case now, since that had been since last bottle allowed during working hours, damn it!

He huffed and felt some tension leave his body when the freaky sensation disappeared, he didn't know who had been playing Shitty-Mc-Stupid-Spy on him, but he would love to tear their fucking throats out. It was ridiculous, stressful and mocking, the fucker really liked to act as if they were all sneaky and shit but they were a fucking creep.

For fucks sake, Husk needed another drink.

[...]

The rest of his shift went by uneventfully, or as uneventfully as things could get on the godforsaken hotel, but whatever, he was finally free and intended to put his free time into good use. Drink a few bottles, sleep to his shriveled heart desire and maybe he would even have a few hours left to go and have a few rounds of poker.

The idea made his lips curve into a crooked grin, his steps becoming a little more enthusiastic, he spotted Niffty on the hallway still some doors away from his room, probably starting her second or third round of cleaning, just perfect, that way he could tell her to not bother with his living quarters since he would be idling in them. The woman noticed him before he got that close, though, and smiled big and full of excitement that Husk could never grasp.

“Hi there, Husky!” The greeting was loud and fitting for the smile that accompanied it, Husk returned it with a movement of his hand.

“Hey, Niff,” it was a poor reply in what emotion referred to, but the shorter demon took no offense by it, that was the fun part about Husk, after all! “I will be in my room so don’t bother trying to get in there, will ya?”

“Oh, but I will try not to bother you when I get to it! I promise!” Niffty tried to argue, because if she didn’t get in that room, then her whole system would be incomplete! And that would simply not do, Husk didn't appear to understand the seriousness of it, going by the unimpressed look he was giving her “Please, Husk!?” She tried.

Husk merely sighed, but didn’t relent, he did promise to try to leave at some point in the afternoon to let her tidy up, though, and that was a victory of sorts, surely!

With that settled, the cat demon continued on his way, finally reaching his bedroom and pulling out his key to enter, catching the smell of _ something _from behind the door. It was strange, with the constant cleaning sprees of Niffty, nothing ever remained long enough to create that kind of stench, Husk frowned and felt a kind of foreboding starting to crawl through his veins, and finally, pushed open the door.

The smell of blood hit him first, then the sight of carnage, for over his bed a gruesome spectacle was put on display.

Husk let out a screech of shock, terror and offense, getting Niffty’s attention and having her a second later next to him and looking towards the… _ thing. _

The woman’s breath hitched, and Husk could almost feel the conflict dancing in her thoughts, because the scenery had his certain kind of twisted beauty, and Niffty loved that, even if she hated messes like this.

She was still the first one to react, scrambling to the room and starting to grab hold of one of the innards hanging from the sailing “That… that won't do! Not at all! Don’t you worry, I will have this cleaned up in no time, even if it is very pretty...” The last part was a quiet whisper, but Husk still caught it “Sorry, that was rude! Because this is surely very awful for you, right? Right!”

Husk remained quiet, ears flat and body taut, he slowly approached the corpse, with disgust growing by the second. It was a deer, the only way to tell was thanks to the big antlers pinned to the wall that acted as the start of bloody wings painted in the wall and framing, along with the innards still crying rivulets of red over his bed and reflecting the light of the slightly parted curtains, a heart that crowned a set of words.

_ “Comme un amour étrange la nôtre est histoire de guerre.” _

And over a carefully open space, a starting hand of poker.

  
  


He snarled, aggravated and panicked and not knowing what to do with himself, he couldn't breath, the smell of copper to heavy around him, the implications of whatever this was ringing in his head and an overwhelming need to _ run and hide _ burning on his insides. _ What kind of sick joke was the bastard making!? _

Husk felt irked and terrified, because this… this was the start of a sick game, he knew, because he wasn't stupid, just like he knew he was not going to get a say in the matter in regard of his participation in it, like with everything that had to do with _ him. _

_ Alastor. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Like a strange love, ours is war history."
> 
> That's the translation according to Google, please correct me if I'm wrong!
> 
> Now, as you may have noticed, this work is now part of series, that's because I will add side-stories that will be loosely set in the same universe, so you can take this one as reference about them!
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading and hope you liked this new chapter! Kudos and comments are always appreciated.


	3. Sarcasm

At the edge of a shitty panic attack, it had taken every ounce of willpower Husk possessed to not fall completely in the clutches of his trauma, and then some extra amount of effort needed to be made in order to not hunt down the idiotic asshole and tear him a new one for doing something so fucking disgusting. He was more than upset and downright  _ pissed,  _ sure, but just like he knew the carnage on his bedroom was probably the start of more bullshit, he was also fairly certain that the whole purpose of the goddamn shitshow was to get a reaction, of the violent kind, out of him. And the most petty and logical part of him had determined that the best course of action was avoiding to do just that, after all, the biggest  _ ’Fuck You’ _ someone could direct to Alastor was doing exactly the opposite of what he was trying to get you to do.

His apparent indiference would surely annoy the fucker, and hopefully, get him to drop whatever ball he was trying to get going. At least in the near future.

Whatever, at least during the present, Husk was determined to not let his wrath consume him and end up being a fucking clown for the entertainment of the deer demon. So he let Niffty work at cleaning the mess and excused himself to the nearest bar, drinking every single bottle he felt was needed to drown his pent up aggression, beating the first unlucky bastard that looked at him funny, and returning only when he was sure he would not attempt to murder Alastor on the spot.

From there, he did the possible to continue as unbothered and apathetic as always, reacting with the same levels of anger and threats that were pulled out of him by the usual shenanigans of the other members of the hotel, if he frowned a little more when he saw the Radio Demon or answered to him with even more disdain as usual, well… eh, he was content enough for not punching his teeth in. But as hell will have it, his lack of reaction didn’t appear to stop Alastor in the slightest.

There was a reason he found another mess in his room not even two days after the first one, showcasing a similar reaction and filling the itch for retribution grow stronger, still, he persisted, out of spite. Clawing down the dark intentions inside of him in favor of the bigger picture. He knew that showing himself unbothered had to be at least slightly inconvenient for the plans of the fucking asshole.

The third time really threatened to make him snap, though. Because it included even more blood and guts and details.

The messages also continued to become more distasteful with every new corpse left to decorate his walls, and Husk did the possible to not put much attention into them, unless he wanted the more paranoid part of his mind to continue to nag at him with the notion that all of this was clearly more than the recent attempt of Alastor to get in his nerves.

The issues was not helped considering the slight changes in the demeanor of the other demon. More attentive, in a way, Husk could never shake off the feeling that no matter what he did or say, the Radio Demon was always acknowledging him to a certain extent. He was also a bit more receptive, lenient and even indulging in his own kind of way, someone somewhere probably would have found it flattering, Husk thought of it as fucking creepy. There was also the way his usual smile appeared to change in a way he couldn't quite describe… but that caused him an inexplicable amount of chagrin, he felt like some sort of  _ prey _ whenever he found himself in the receiving end of it. It felt like a silent attack, a promise of sorts, about something he  _ couldn't understand. _

But perhaps that was for the best.

Not that it mattered much in the end, he supposed, knowing would do nothing to the growing tension inside of him. Hiking higher and higher with every knew stupid and  terrifying discovery on his living quarters, with every unsettling interaction with the asshole responsible of them, and with the ever present pressure of his trauma and responsibilities at the hotel. Husk was sure that if things continued piling up this way, he would soon enough buckle under the pressure, it was one thing to carry only the dark thoughts of his past life and workload of the current one, but this sudden influx of new stress and negative emotions was only pushing the wrong buttons hard, fast and constantly.

And maybe not even alcohol would help to appease the growing turmoil that was beginning to tear him from the inside. 

_ Damn it all! _

[...]

In the end, Husk was not sure what made him snap. It was most likely do to the shitty day he had so far, with a sudden amount of sinners trying to register in the hotel because of the nearing yearly extermination, meaning more jerks and dumb pieces of bullcrap ended up pestering him and denying him some semblance of peace, there was also trying to stop Angel Dust from burning the kitchen to the ground after the princess had stupidly asked him to help Niffty prepare dinner, which led to ensure the tiny demon didn't unleash her full temper against those two fuckers for insulting her capabilities to deal with the chores on her own and for also messing one of her  _ sanctuaries,  _ that one had obviously fallen fully into Husk’s hands, because he knew how to do a half decent job when it came to comfort Niffty.

It really managed to fill his quota for emotional taxing situations of the next fucking  _ month. _ And he was annoyed and tired beyond belief, and more than ready to collapse into his bed and do absolute jackshit for the duration of his break.

Then he had found the newest, shittiest, godforsaken murder scene smearing the entirety of his room and whatever shred of patience he was still holding just fucking died to accompany the rest of his hopes and dreams into a boiling pit of fire.

Husk was positively and definitely  _ done  _ with this shit.

Fuck taking some sort of subtle action in order to get back at the Radio Demon, fuck snuffing out his own anger to not make something brash, just  _ fuck it.  _ Husk was  _ livid _ and out for blood.

Face contorted in fury, furr bristled in agitation, he moved through the halls with his eyes spelling murder and his claws and teeth ready to tear down anyone who got in his way. Husk had a target in mind, the lanky son of a bitch that had been making his existence more hard and complicated that it never needed to be, fucking him over time and time again. Today he was seeking his retribution in the form of bruises and cuts.

When he reached the doors of the bastard’s room, Husk threw them open without any care or control, hearing the way they crashed against the walls and glaring straight towards the tall form of the Radio Demon that was casually sitting behind an elegant looking desk, sorting paperwork without much care and with his ever present smile not disappearing from his lips.

_ “You!”  _ The hiss was strong and dripping poison, it finally made the other demon look away from the papers he was holding and look at him. 

As it had become usual, his smile morphed into something wider and intimidating and Husk shuddered slightly, temper flaring even more after it. He snarled.

“Oh, my dearest Husker! To what do I-” Alastor’s words sounded as cheerful and inviting as always, Husk didn't let him finish.

“Shut the fuck up!” The hiss was forceful and Husk accompanied it with moving more inside the room, baring his teeth and letting the few rays of light in the place to be reflected by his claws, sharp and ready “I have had it with you and your motherfucking bullshit! So don’t you dare get more on my nerves!”

“Ah, no need to be so abrasive, darling! And after I have put so much effort in my little presents, the least I would expect would be a thank you.” And that definitely was mocking, with the way the asshole squinted, smirking and placing his hands over the desk in an act of plain civility. Not intimidated in the slightest. Husk felt something inside him break.

“Are you shitting me!?” A growl, almost spitting fire “That crap is far from a fucking ‘gift’, you despicable bastard! And you have the guts to expect me to thank you!? Go fuck yourself, or even better  _ I _ will fuck you up!”

The cat demon lurched forward, using his wings to move faster, the sudden action seemed to take the other by surprise because he didn't manage to even stand up when the body of the smaller male crashed into him, making them tople into the floor. Sharp claws swiped short after towards his neck, and they cut the elegant suit and part of the flesh before Husk was forced to move back or be hit by the mic stand that was now resting between the hands of the Radio Demon, that was now eyeing him with rapt interest, standing up with elegance.

“Well, that was uncalled for, but a lovely performance as always, my old friend!” A joyous laugh, and he moved his free hand to touch at his new wound, moving it so he could look at the blood flowing from it, humming, pleased “You even managed to get me this time.”

Husk’s frown deepened and he moved his hand to get rid of the liquid tainting them “This is the  _ least _ of what you deserve after all the shit you have been pulling.” He huffed, tense and ready “But since you insisted in continuing with that stupid fuckery, I suppose that not giving you attention isn’t enough to make you get the fucking hint!”

That made Alastor laugh again, amused “Well, the truth is, dear, that I  _ insisted  _ on it because it appeared to me that you were  _ not _ catching up! So perhaps more… prompting was in order to get a response out of you.”

And the fucker  _ winked,  _ like he was all smooth and suave and shit, looking at him  _ softly _ , like those actions were actually a gesture with nice intentions and not some freaky shit done as a tasteless pranks. Well, fuck him.

“What the hell!?” Husk screeched, insulted, the same alarms that have rang in his head the first time blaring once more, at full force, the notion that all of this was not done just for shit and giggles, a  _ game,  _ but serious and intimidating and  _ wrong.  _ For him. “Why don’t you catch this!?”

This time his attack was swiftly met with a twirl of the mic stand, undeterred, he moved backwards and pivoted, throwing swipes and punches one after the other, blocking whatever blow was given in return, catching a few of them and grunting do to the effort and mild pain, one hit in particular made him glide back some distance and he used the momentum to flap his wings, getting off the ground and making Alastor cover himself to avoid the objects that were light enough to be swept by the action, taking his chance, Husk dived and caught one of the arms, letting his claws sink in and twirling in the air to lift the deer demon a bit above the ground and then  _ hurl  _ him to the other side of the room.

Alastor body slammed painfully against the wall, leaving an indent on the surface and making him wheeze a bit, the sound of static, defining and strange, surrounding the place. Husk merely huffed again, watching the taller demon starting to raise, trepidation not leaving him, but refusing to stay there any longer “Take that as my answer, asshole. And cut the crap out.”

He hissed one last time, turning around to leave, wings perked up and ready to carry him out quickly in case it was necessary. As fate would have it, the doors closed with finality just before he reached them, he didn't need to be a genius to know they would not budge if he tried to open them, and with realization downing on him, he came to conclusion that he probably have pushed his boundaries to far. His ears went flat against his skull and his body become taut.

“I suppose I wasn’t clear enough.” Alastor spoke, static still lacing his every word and prompting the cat demon to turn and face him once more, the room appeared to turn darker with every word, signs and symbols dancing around it and figures and apparitions swirling and moving at the edge of the growing darkness “Those messages were never a question, they were a mere pleasantry! My way of being a  _ gentleman _ and let you know of my intentions of pursuing you! However...”

A quick movement of the hand carrying the mic stand and the shadows appeared to close in around Husk, who moved barely a second before they came crashing down the place where he used to be “You never had the option of refusing!”

Husk cursed, doing the possible to keep his attention divided around the sudden amount of tendrils and creatures trying to beat him to the ground, cutting at the few that got too close to him, doing his best to maneuver around the small expanses of the room, trying to reach one of the windows or the door, feeling pretty much willing to claw his way out of there if it was necessary.

Things were cut short when one of his wings was caught by a creature, he couldn’t even shake it off when it smiled, wild and voracious, and bit down at the appendage, making him howl and crash against the ground, once there, he rolled around, letting the weight of his wing smack fully against the surface, stifling another sound of pain of his own, hearing the screech that the entity let out do to the impact, letting go of him. 

Husk tried to crawl back to his full height, working to stop the rest of the fucking minions that tried to keep him pinned down, fighting fiercely and without stopping, until he managed to be back on his feet. But then, he was caught by the throat by Alastor himself. He snarled “Let go, you son of a bitch!”

“I don’t think you are in position to make demands, dearest.” Alastor laughed again, loud and unyielding, commanding for tendrils to catch his arms and legs to stop him from fighting “Then again, I don’t plan to do much… I did mean it when I say I intend to court you properly.”

Husk paused his struggles when he heard that, again, he had tried to ignore it the first time, but now he couldn’t do it and the idea  _ terrified _ him.  _ Courting, pursue him, _ as if Alastor was… “I told you to cut the crap out!”

“Oh, I can assure you I’m being fairly honest, my darling Husk!” The Radio Demon chuckled, moving the hand from his neck down his chest and towards his harmed wing, squeezing it and making him yelp before he moved his hand back to his initial place “You see, I have found myself quite… interested, in you, for the past few months. And at first, I couldn’t understand what was that sudden sentiment of permanent curiosity, but as it grew, becoming consuming and raw, I understood that I was falling quickly and certainly in  _ love!  _ With you, no less! _ ” _

“You sick fuck!” Husk screamed then, loud and hard, feeling desperate and afraid, because there was no way to deny something like that any longer. And the idea of it, of being  _ ‘loved’ _ by a murderous psychopath, a cruel serial killer, a  _ monster. _ It was like a living nightmare “You don’t know shit about love! Get the hell away from me!”

The cat demon thrashed around more intensely, attempting to free himself, to flee, growing more furious and frantic by the second, the pressure over his windpipe turned stronger, along with the one over the rest of his limbs and that made him pause to look at the demon holding him, barely concealing his fear. 

“Now, now, no need to react that way, sweetheart!” The expression Alastor was making only helped to creep him out further, seeing him grown closer and closer, unable to move away from the sharp points that was his smile making him sink further in his panic “I assure you, I know perfectly how to express my tenderness…”

Alastor settled against the crook of his neck, nuzzling, making him shudder in disgust, still, Husk managed to caught how loose the hold over him had become, and he knew the other demon had grown distracted. Taking his chance, he moved forward and bit down, hard, the shoulder that was closest to him, moving back and tearing out a chunk of flesh. Alastor stumbled back, the sound of static becoming deafening and something akin to a sound of pain making way past his lips. The shadows around the room appeared to waver and disintegrate, hissing and turning, and Husk tugged harshly at his boundaries, feeling them give in and finally freeing himself.

Not losing a second, he lunged for the entrance of the room, the knob turning with horrid difficulty, Husk felt the pressure in the room beginning to return, agitated and letal, and knew he needed to get out.  _ Now. _

He heard the lock made a soft ‘click’ and threw the object open without delay, and then he ran, fast, terrified and uncaring, slowed down by his damaged wing that was hanging limply behind him. Panicked as he was, moving more by instinct, he didn't realize where he was going until he ended up in front another room, clawing at the door rapidly, whining mutely and restlessly waiting to be let in. Niffty appeared in the doorway not soon after, cutting whatever cheerful greeting she was planning, yelping instead when she saw him, that could only mean Husk was looking worse than what he expected.

He stumbled forward as soon as the tiny demon began to tug at him, hurrying him inside and fuzzing about his wounds, rambling about  _ whats and wheres and whos… _ Husk could only grimace, falling to the ground, trembling, heaving and sobbing dryly, furious and confused, and afraid.

Fucking  _ terrified. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned out longer than what I expected, but it's here now! Things have oficially gone to hell and it will progressively become more ugly, still, hope you liked it!
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated. ^^


	4. Whispers In The Dark

Despite the obvious rage and offense, there was an underlying kind of sweetness, of giddiness for the confrontation he lived a few moments ago. Of course Alastor had anticipated Husk’s fury, after all, he was not only interfering within one of his safe spaces, but also communicating with the help of blood and dead, things that, despite time and place, have never stopped making Husker squeamish and upset; however, Alastor had figured that if he wanted to get started with his pursuing of the other demon, a big impression needed to be made, something to atone for the importance and seriousness of such action.

And so he had been careful and tactful, planning before moving forward in the making of his canvas, considering his feelings and how he wanted to express them and the way to include the likings and pastimes of his beloved in there too, as a show of his knowledge and proof of his attentions.

Like that, the first time he had added the last detail and admired the fulfilled scenario of his machinations, pride had swelled wide and consuming on his chest and he had laid down in wait for the sweet reaction it would entail. The wrath, insults and accusations. When none of them came, he had been perplexed, could it be he hadn’t known enough to pinpoint the right reaction? Alastor felt miffed, surely that couldn’t be the case. He knew well about Husk, his few likes and multiple hates, how to get under his skin and how to get him willing and comfortable to go along with his plans. Then, what was this sudden lack of compliance? Maybe he hadn't been as sneaky as he had thought and the other demon had managed to catch the whispers of his yearning and decided to lend torture on him with the help of it.

The notion was thrilling, but unlikely, Alastor knew well how to keep things safe and concealed. And maybe, he was just putting too much thought into it. Husk wasn’t that complex in any sense, and looking into it, he was just probably figuring a way to get back at him.

In any case, his apathy was once again proving to be a source of annoyance. It felt insulting, in a way, have all of his effort be met with resolute silence and a bit of accented disgruntled expressions, like it meant nothing to the cat demon, unchanged and angry, like usual. 

It hit him then that  _ that _ was probably the intention.

Clever little kitty.

Alas, the Radio Demon knew Husk’s patience wasn't the greatest, and that some persistence in his attempts will manage to do the trick in making him respond. So he continued with his advances, getting more creative and bold in how he used his carnage and corpses, letting his experience get free reign to move and transform. Dark imagery coming to life, horrible and lovely, and just for his sweetheart. 

He also made sure to mold his body language and actions to be on par with his messages, it would be inconsiderate of him to send mixed signals do to unchanged approaches. All in all, Alastor’s priority was to make good of his fancy.

And his efforts had finally paid off, in the form of a bristling and beautiful Husk barging into his quarters, full of fire and decadent fury. The Radio Demon had prepared the words he had wanted to say, a way to appease the anger and give way to contemplation, and maybe some flustered acceptance.

Now he knew, while feeling the ache of regenerating muscle and stitching of skin, that his affection had blinded him partly to the extent of Husk’s wrath and that had been a foolish mistake to make, because that caused him to be unprepared and slip up into a mild sense of anger of his own, offended by the implications that the wonders he prepared with such care were seen as mere tasteless pranks, dumb and futile, unimportant, the obvious disgust had also felt like an insensitive reaction towards his tastes. The reckless rejection had been the last straw, though.

And the darkest part of him, nasty and vengeful had come out, the logical part knew that was another mistake, letting the worst of him step forward in such a delicate moment? Goodness gracious, how foolish! But… Husk made it too easy for him to set every aspect of his insides loose.

At least, the more forceful approach had been useful in the great scheme of things, Alastor not only managed to mildly sate the ache of his own anger, but also see the violence trickle out of the other demon and give way for confusion, realization and  _ fear.  _ Deep, unmasked and curious.

Obviously still rooted in a posture of the unknown, nervousness, certainly, because Husk have never saw him like this, pining and loving, but Alastor would show him. Show him his affection, his tenderness. And obviously, his darling did not have any room to deny. Not that Husker had ever gotten along with limits before.

He had lashed out, of course, and perhaps Alastor had been a little bit too pushy, but in occasions it was hard to remember the difference between the limits of courting depending on time periods, petting had been common among his peers, nothing to feel particularly ashamed or shy about, despite of that, it was most certainly different for Husk, and that was why he had been so abrasive and preoccupied. But Alastor had longed for that closeness for  _ so _ long. Know he knew. For holding the other close had made him feel satisfied, after being uncertain and craving for  _ something  _ he could never quite grasp, finally he got rest, a name to give. How funny, Husk had really messed him up completely, but he didn’t feel despair or shame for it, in place, he felt  _ hungry. _

For retribution and for the innocent and silly act of demonstrating affection.

Because, even if he felt more secure about his intent, even if he had managed to make his thoughts to be known, he still felt wronged. For the terror and distaste, and the pain caused because of them. Alastor appreciated power and the demonstration of it, but Husk needed to be reminded that he had boundaries that needed to be followed, and if he insisted to act as a cornered animal, well, the Radio Demon was going to give him a reason to truly feel intimidated and on edge.

Alastor could be horribly petty sometimes.

[...]

He waited until his wounds had healed fully and his magic had been to the utmost of its abilities before making his move. It was already fairly late, with most of the creatures on the hotel already resting or out and about to mingle with the nocturnal scenario. As he hopped, his dearest Husk was huddled in his own bed, covered with new sheets, soft looking and spotless as the rest of the room, not that Alastor expected anything else.

He noted the way the wings were spread over the sleeping form of the cat, tense and ready, and that was the only sign he could perceive that spoke about the effects of their little conflict. How adorable.

The Radio Demon felt compelled to approach the other and let his hands sink in the warmth and comfort of those feathers and fur, but restrained himself, in the end, he was not here to act as a doting lover, not this time, at the very least. Tonight was for punishment and retribution.

He began to humm a cheery tune, walking to one of the corners of the room and letting his mic stand manifest on his hold, making a elegant twirl of the object that slowly give way to a plain looking nightstand and a nice vintage radio. With excitement thrumming through his veins, his smile turned sharp, sigils and signs floating around the place as he turned the object on. 

The sound it produced was eery and paralyzing, hypnothic, a warning. Immediately the figure resting began to move, tossing and turning, brows furrowing in concern and growing worry, wings stretching and flapping half-heartedly, fighting off visions and trying to run away from horrid aparissions and nightmarish entities. Uselessly, brokenly.

Smiling more tenderly, he finally approached the bed, sitting down at the edge, close to the fighting form of his beloved, casually moving his hand to touch softly the pained expression of the other demon and wondering what terrible scenarios was Husk’s psyche conjuring to torture him with, relentlessly and permanently, at least until he needed to wake up for his next shift.

“Sweet dreams, darling.” He commented, joyous, cruel, before disappearing from the room completely.

Now on his own living quarters, at home and away from the hotel, Alastor let a radio of his own start playing while he began to get ready to sleep. Hearing with delight the rustle of sheets, and progressively louder, pained and anguished cries. 

Perhaps, he could get used to hear that symphony in particular.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! But shorter than the last one, hope you like it still, though. I swear this exposure and set-up are necessary!
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments, btw, they are always appreciated!
> 
> Also, I'm in Tumblr as norikodblackcat. In case anyone is interested, I will probably start posting a playlist that goes along with this fic, along with a few headcanons for Hazbin Hotel, ask if you have any doubts about the fic, idk(?) Sorry. ^^'


	5. Monster

The heat was unbearable, he couldn’t breath. Husk felt the way his body continued to be wracked by coughs, trying to take air to his burning lungs, catching only ashes and the smell of burning flesh, his eyes burned and he couldn’t see anything from in between the smoke and charred corpses groveling and pleading for their torture to end. Desperate and broken. He ran, numb and terrified, stumbling with every step but trying to run away from the hell that they have been pushed into.

When something, crushing and unyielding, caught one of his ankles, Husk could only yelp while falling face first to the ground, hissing for the way seering grime and dirt stained his skin and made way to the cuts and scrapes he had acquired, he held into his rifle like a life-line and directed his swimming gaze towards the thing still holding him down. His breath hitched when he caught sight of a disfigured face, angry and pained, staring back, he tried to kick out to make the  _ man, monster, whatever it was _ … let go, to free himself, seeing the approaching fire with mounting fear, but his struggle appeared to achieve nothing except make the corpse growl and hold him tighter, features contorting disgustingly while another hand came forward and latched onto his other leg. Husk screamed, talons breaking through his skin, heat growing to destroy him slowly, exposing muscle and blood.

He fought harder, twisting and turning, holding back whimpers and cries while the monster continued to crawl towards him, cutting him open, suffocating him.

In his struggle, Husk managed to turn around, wide-eyed and frantic, with the smell of sulfur striking him while he caught sight of the deep and putrid darkness of the hollow sockets of the creature now completely on top of him. Husk flinched, chest seizing up. Being sure he was about to die.

Yellowed teeth turned into a chilling smile and began to inch closer, before they could tear him apart, Husk pulled the trigger of his weapon with blood bathing him completely in its sick colour, feeling like acid trickling down his skin. The monster began to contort on itself, making a gurgling sound and taking its talons towards the wound on its chest, maggots started to crawl out of the bloodied opening, and the entity let out a blood-curdling screech, cracking bones and starting to peel at its skin. The smell of rot became insufferable. Husk couldn’t breath, panicked, and he turned his head to the side, vomiting what little he had on his stomach, cramps making him shudder. 

He began to crawl out from under the thing, pulling up his gun with trembling fingers but readying for his next shot. The world around him started to glitch, bits and pieces peeling off and making a deafening crackling sound, Husk’s nausea returned, intense and appaling, and then, the creature lurched forward. He wasn’t able to defend himself and merely flinched, feeling his lungs give way to a last terrified scream.

The sound of static stopped suddenly and Husk woke up with a strangled cry.

Confused and trembling, he gasped, looking at his surroundings with frayed nerves and crushing dread, noting the unperturbed contorts of his comfortable room at the hotel, tension disappearing by the second. He took one last shuddering breath, and curled his claws around his sheets, directing his free paw to cover his face. Eyes closed tight and mouth making a frustrated sneer.

_ Nightmares.  _ Brutal and constant and unavoidable. 

Husk felt like hollering every profanity he knew about, because he hadn't had a night that shitty for a long,  _ long, _ time. He shuddered, feeling his skin crawl and grinding his teeth. Desperately.

Vile was still trying to make way out of his throat, but he swallowed it down, being sure he had made a big enough of a mess without adding puke to it. His suspicion was confirmed after he pulled aside the paw covering his face, catching glimpses of ruined bandages and torn sheets. A slight smell of copper floating in the air.  _ Great _ ,  _ just fucking peachy. _

He had destroyed his covers and bed, ruined Niffty’s patchwork and re-opened his wounds, that were now irritated and stinging, bleeding once more. This morning was turning out to be the fucking cherry on top of an awful afternoon and stupidly disgusting night.

He needed a drink, or twenty, but one thing at a time, first he needed to get his shit together and try to do damage control before Niffty showed up and blew a gasket for the mess he had made of himself. And he would need to do it quickly, because according to the clock hanging on the wall, there was just a flimsy half and hour before he needed to start his shift. Fucking damn it.

Husk stood in shaky legs, letting out a tired sigh and grimacing, moving to the bathroom to clean at his wounds and attempt to cover them up again. After that, he was going back to his bedroom, ready to start musing about what to do with his bed when he saw the new addition to the room that  _ definitely _ didn’t belong there. His breath hitched once more as he sneered, his furr and wings standing up in response to a perceived threat, the radio just remained there, classy and innocent, but Husk wasn’t stupid to believe that shit was anything but trouble.

To his mind came the image of crazed red eyes and a sharp smile, he shuddered, mouth forming a flat-line while he did everything in his power to not think about the  _ damned bastard  _ and the fuckery he pulled yesterday. He tried to focus on the radio once more when a sudden knock made his paranoia return at full force, he turned to look at the door, claws up and fangs bared, could it be that…?  _ No. _

_ Oh, hell to the fuck no. _

The knock came again, more frantic this time “Husk! Are you awake!?” And then Niffty’s voice reached him, making him drop his guard slowly, and he finally let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

“Yeah, yeah” His voice sounded hoarse and he frowned, at least there was no obvious tint of panic when he answered, truthfully, the least he needed at the moment was making explanations. Specially after he managed to avoid answering most of his friend’s questions the night before, Husk really didn’t want to get her involved in this mess Alastor was stirring up. 

Maybe his destroyed bed would be a useful distraction in the end, he huffed while looking at it, before dragging himself to finally allow the woman to come in, Husk braced himself and waited for the reaction of the demoness.

“Hi- ! Oh my gosh!” Niffty sounded horrified and indignated, her mouth agape and eye looking at his body frantically, then moving to what was visible of his room, probably searching for further damage. The medical kit on her hands shook slightly before she clutched it close to her chest “What happened!?”

The pitch on her voice made Husk flinch and before he could give an explanation, the girl was pushing him towards the bed and making him sit down, just letting out the tiniest hitched breath when she finally saw the true extent of disarray of the mattress. Niffty muttered something in japanese, to quietly for him to really understand it, before shaking her head and starting to take out the things she was going to need, moving quickly around him to take off the ruined dressing of his wounds, grumbling when she found the ones that were bleeding again.

Of course, she wasn’t quiet for long “So! What happened then?”

Her usual chipper tone was back, but it did nothing to hide the light concern, Husk squashed the guilt trying to squirm out do to the way he was requesting for her help without being fully honest “Nightmares.” He could at least offer her that much.

“It has been a while since the last time you had one of those” Her response was accompanied by a knowing hum and a frown on her lips.

“Eh, I have had worse” A half-truth, those dreams had been one of the worst to have occured in his time on hell, but he shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing, if only to reduce the worry of the shorter demon “It’s fine.”

“No, it's not!” Niffty pulled tightly at the bandage that she was currently wrapping up, making him hiss for the spike of pain it caused, Niffty jumped in return a second later and clamped her mouth shut, remorsefully, getting rid of the pressure “Sorry, sorry!”

“It’s fine, Niffty.” He grunted in reassurance, she still shook her head.

“You are hurt and I’m supposed to be helping you, but I’m just making it worse!” She sounded frantic and moved more quickly, clearly agitated “What kind of friend am I?”

“Honestly,” Husk snorted and caught her arm lightly to make her stop for a second “You are one of the few demons I would say I enjoy to be with, so you are doing a fucking great job.” He let her go, seeing her giggle and relax the tiniest bit, almost feeling the worry at the back of his mind dissipate.

“You are just saying that to make me feel better.” She quipped, calmer in her movements.

“Hah, as if I was nice enough to do that.” Husk grunted.

“Maybe.” Her tongue peaked out in concentration while she put together the finishing touches on his wounds “There!”

She stepped back, beaming with pride to then frown when she remembered the tarnished piece of furniture on the room “I don't know if I can patch that up, though.”

Husk shrugged with true lack of care, standing up and stretching lightly “You can worry about that later, we have to get going anyway. You still need to prepare lunch, right?”

“Oh, you are right!” Niffty began to put back together her first aid kit, moving excitedly and running to the exit, waiting for him there “Come on, Husk!”

“I’m fucking going.” He grabbed his hat and then made way for the door as well, hearing Niffty start to chatter about her plans for lunch, supper and dinner, answering with occasional grunts and hums. Then static distorted the hallway lightly and his body became tense once again, heart trying to leap out of his throat as he turned quickly towards the place where a new figure had manifested.

_ Alastor. _

Husk hissed in a clear demonstration of aggression, while Niffty greeted the deer demon cheerily. 

“Why, hello there, darling!” The Radio Demon addressed the woman first, nodding at her lightly. Alastor’s eyes gleamed with something dark when they landed on Husk, making him shudder and hide his discomfort behind a growl, that only appeared to increase Alastor’s sick joy “And hello to you too, dearest.” The words were a purr and made something shurn inside of the cat demon.

“What brings you here, Al? You don't usually stroll down the halls of the hotel.” The cyclops wondered, curiosity real and strong. Alastor clearly rejoiced with the attention.

“Well, to be quite honest, I came here to make sure Husker had gotten a  _ proper _ rest.” His expression shifted into mock concern, and Husk frowned, almost sensing the outer meaning behind that sentence. Somehow, the idea that his shitty night was not truly a product of his fucked up mind, occurred to him.

The thought wasn't that crazy, considering what he knew, but perhaps he was just being paranoid.

“Oh, fuck off.” He answered, harsh and furious.

“Husk!” Niffty admonished him for it, but he merely rolled his eyes.

“The bastard deserves it, Niffty.” Husk assured without a second thought, not taking his eyes off the figure of the taller demon.

“I’m afraid Husker is quite right, dear. I was rather  _ forceful, _ during our last meeting, so I get why he is feeling a bit on edge at the moment.” Alastor agreed pleasantly, looking at him like he expected some kind of positive reaction for his passive acceptance. Well, fuck him.

“On edge!?” Husk sneered again “Fancy way of saying I don’t want to see your shitty face for the rest of my fucking eternity!”

“Come now, doll.” Alastor squinted, a pleased smile not living his lips while he moved closer, with his hand making an appeasing gesture “You can’t mean that, after all, we only had a tiny disagreement.”

Husk sputtered in indignation, Niffty made a sound of understanding “So that's why you were so banged-up last night!”

Alastor answered before he could rectify any of it “That's right! Which remind me to thank you for helping my sweet Husker after our little…  _ lovers’ quarrel.” _

Husk’s anger grew, irked and terrified for the way Alastor referred to their fight, for how honest and certain he sounded about it. “Are you fucking shitting me, insufferable piece of deluded bullcrap!?” He threw a swipe of his claws, cutting the front of the fancy attire of the other demon, that eyed him with amusement and the start of annoyance. “You better stop making up this kind of idiocies, and on that note, stop coming near me altogether!” He turned to Niffty, intending to ensure she didn't go along with anything Alastor told her “Don’t believe shit of what he tells you!”

Then, he pushed aside the Radio Demon, tense and infuriated, heart thundering inside his ribcage while he  _ fled.  _ He might have felt like a coward, but he knew it was better to avoid giving things the chance to spiral out of control like the night before.

He really,  _ really,  _ needed those drinks.

[...]

He took another swing of his second, perhaps third, bottle in the last twenty minutes, all in all, not that much considering how fast he could drink if he was trying to get wasted, but that was not his purpose… yet, to be honest, he only wanted to get rid of the nastiest part of the demons pestering his mind. Husk felt worn down and a step away from lashing out, his stress have just gone up with the shit ended that happened to him yesterday and the subsequent revelation that came out of it. He grimaced, tired of the thought and his inability to ignore it, a part of him, dumb and hopeful, still wanted to believe that Alastor was just pulling an elaborated and terrible prank on him. As stupid as it was to hold onto that wishful thinking.

He had been there to hear the confession, full of honesty and infatuation, unavoidable and condemning, and knew there was no way to truly run away from it. From Alastor. He was trapped and screwed. He clenched his jaw and almost spit out the alcohol in his mouth, finding it more bitter than usual. Fucking damn it.

When a pair of hands covered his eyes, he answered by instinct, letting his elbow sink in the gut of his attacker and smashing the bottle he was holding to press the sharp edges against their neck, he threw insults in one of the multiple languages he knew about, until he finally saw who he was about to fuck up.

“Hey! Watch it, handsome, I need this body to live” Angel Dust wheezed, a pained and clipped smirk on his face while he batted his eye-lids. 

“Oh, it’s just you.” Husk huffed, relieved until he looked at the mess caused by the broken drink “Damn it.”

“Wow, you almost sound happy to see me.” Angel laughed, looking with unabashed interest to the languid movements of the demon in front of him “Are my charming attributes finally winning you over?” He put both hands over his chest fluff, showing it up and winking, flaunting his hips but not getting that much closer.

“Hell no.” Husk answer was immediate, expression unimpressed and mildly annoyed “I’m just glad you are not another pompous and despicable shitlord.”

That picked the spider’s interest “Oh, now, that sounds juicy!” Angel took a seat over the frontdesk, not hiding in the slightest his interest for this new ‘gossip’ “Am I getting some competition to win you over? Because I have been here longer and I demand an advantage if that's the case.”

His flirty pout and posture only got him an even more annoyed expression “Are you done spewing bullshit? Because I don’t have the fucking patience to deal with you right-fucking-now.”

“Oh, come on! I haven't done anything particularly controversial yet!” The actor defended, childish and mildly offended. Husk rolled his eyes because of his antics.

“I don't give a damn! You either shut the hell up, or get the fuck out, because I'm not afraid to kick your scrawny ass out of here.” Husk’s aggression was palpable on his posture but he couldn’t care less, he was tired, stressed and on the verge of having a damned stoke, so dealing with the shitty spider’s bullshit was not something he wanted to do at this particular moment.

Angel Dust appeared to take a hint for once in his life, looking taken aback before huffing “Well, you are certainly being no fun at all, if you can't even handle some light teasing.” He jumped off the countertop and quickly reached with his main set of arms to grab hold of the other demon’s head bending forward and landing a small peck on the cheek of a surprised Husk, pulling back before deadly claws tore his skull in half “See ya when you are up to have a good time, kitty!”

Angel’s mischievous laughter resounded around the lobby, egged on by the constant stream of insults thrown his way, however, a sudden pressure on his chest cut him off abruptly, halting his step, and he found himself paralyzed, until his limbs started to bend in a painful way. The porn star wheezed, confusion mixing with fear while he looked around in worry, not catching sight of whatever was causing his new predicament. And as suddenly as it started, it went away, making him fall to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut off, he coughed, clutching his breast with desperation while hunching over himself, his blurry vision catching sight of a silhouette of red, tall and intimidating, that he followed onto a terrifying smirk and scarlet eyes that gleamed with cold hatred, making him shudder and freeze.

“Hm, what an improper position you are in, my effeminate fellow!” There was a minor lace of static floating around the deer demon while he said this, adding to the way he towered over the trembling spider “Perhaps you should stop putting your filthy hands over things that are certainly far beyond your reach.”

Angel Dust’s breath hitched and he barely managed to scramble out of the way when the Radio Demon continued to stroll down the room without sparing him a second glance, like he was worthless of any further attention after that threat, because that was exactly what that had been, the spider was sure of it, just like he was sure of the obvious display of possessiveness that had shined through every action. In other circumstances, he would have thought it was hot, but as it stood, with him trembling on the floor and genuinely terrified for the first time since he winded up in hell.

He could only give his condolences to the demon that had gotten the Radio Demon’s  _ interest. _

[...]

Husk continued to grumble to himself even after he could no longer see the stupid spider jumping around, fucking idiot with his insufferable personality and damned antics, of all the days he could decide to pull this crap, of course it had to be today, fucking shit, he hated him so fucking much...

“Aha, just the demon I wanted to see!” That voice immediately got him to clench his jaw and caused his ears to turn flat against his skull. 

On second thought, Husk wanted the perverted spider back.

“What do  _ you  _ want? I thought I had been clear when I told you to leave me the fuck alone.” The cat demon addressed him like he was spitting acid, almost as if he hopped to burn him on the spot only with the scorching of his voice. Alastor smiled broadly.

“Oh please, my darling!” And he laughed, mocking Husk and his obvious distaste as if it was the funniest joke in existence, making the cat demon become more irked and poised to attack “Besides, I came to continue our conversation, considering you so rudely walked away before I could tell you about our plans!”

“Hold the fuck up!” Husk hissed, surprise mixing with his anger “What are you on about now!?”

“Why, I need your assistance with a little… reunion, of sorts, nothing too complicated, really.” Alastor hummed while he made a few dismissive gestures with one of his hands “It will be quiet pleasing for you, I'm sure.”

“No.” He was ferocious and definitive when he said it, baring his teeth the moment he saw the other demon opening his fucking mouth to argue “If you, like a fucking imbecile, thought I would just follow along with whatever shit you came up with after the damned stunts you've been pulling out of your ass, let me make this even clearer: I  _ hate _ your fucking guts. I don’t give a  _ shit _ about whatever fairy tail you have been telling yourself, because, news flash! It is absolute horse shit! And  _ I don’t want any part of it.” _

His obvious aggression didn't cause more reaction aside from a disappointed sigh that pissed him off further. The tint of sadness that it carried felt like a slap to his face, like it was trying to make him  _ guilty  _ about his unwillingness to give the other what he wanted.

“It is unfortunate you think of it in such a way, beloved.” Alastor schooled his expression into tender resignation before some subtle danger crawled into it “Truly, things would be less  _ unpleasant _ for yourself if you were more  _ cooperative.” _

The obvious intimidation made him snap “I don't give a damn!” Husk spat, convinced and truthful, completely done with him and everything he wanted, wanting to get rid of the asshole right that instant “Now get the fuck out of here! You are scaring off the asshats that are trying to come sign in, and I’m sure the fucking manager will be pissed about it.”

“I suppose, I shall give you time to think about it.” Alastor shrugged, if this was the way Husk wanted to make things play out, so be it. The Radio Demon will surely enjoy see that resolution wither and die with every passing day. Torturous and pleasantly cruel. He bowed with mockery and then began to move away. “See you later, dear!”

If the other demon wanted to make things so difficult for himself, who was Alastor to refuse him?

“¡Jódete, maldito cabrón!” Husk hollered, feeling foreboding growing intensely inside of him. Somehow, he felt as if he had pushed himself into a dark pit, one that only had suffering awaiting at the bottom.

He hopped he was strong enough to pull himself out of it.

[...]

When Husk returned to his room that night, he was sore and exhausted, with the bunch of shitty experiences of the past few days weighing heavily on him. The growing paranoia not helping in the slightest to his deteriorating mental state, he had been avoiding to think to in depth about the way his life was periodically getting fucked over and how it appeared to be in no rush about stopping. At least his bed appeared to be back on one piece, bless Niffty for that. Husk made a mental note about finding a way to make it up to her for all the trouble she had been enduring.

He sighed with a particular kind of frustration, scrambling around his mind to obtain a solution to what he was started to accept was a hopeless situation, no matter how much he wanted to believe otherwise, and it irritated him, realizing that despite being pushed to fulfill his last ’favor’ to the Radio Demon, there was still not way to stay away from him permanently. Or at least until he felt like seeing out the other. Now more than ever, Husk felt like a trapped animal that was merely waiting around for slaughter.

He wasn't going to give the bastard the satisfaction of being some sort of submissive victim, though. Screw that.

His bitterness was palpable, and it specially surged forward the moment he caught sight of the radio that had  _ mysteriously  _ appeared in his living quarters at some point the night before. Husk was well acquainted with the relation that shit had with the deer demon, the way it could be used and manipulated by the other, and even if he wasn’t sure of  _ what _ purpose it was supposed to fulfill while laying idly in that place, he wasn't going to let it stay around and find out. The less contact he had with Alastor and anything related to him, the better.

So he picked up the object from where it was, groaning, slowly making way to the closests window and once there, hurling the radio with as much strength as he could muster, the glass on the window shattered with ease and that only left the fucking thing to freefall and turn into pieces upon reaching the ground. Husk allowed the tiniest smirk to appear on his face, dark satisfaction blooming on his chest, with that taken care of, he just needed to get himself cleaned up and head to bed.

Hopefully, he would be able to get some rest that night.

Of course, his dreams were plagued with blood, teeth and talons pulling him apart, making him twist, plead and cry. Horrid and rotten and  _ wrong. _ Until he awoke, trembling, sobbing and aching, catching sight of another radio, irely silent and feigning innocence, in the same place that the other one. Making him hiss and cry out in fury, leaping out of bed to pierce the hellish object with his claws, seeing sparks and smoke fly out from the cut, with desperation and sick realization settling in his core. Nauseous, with fire still burning his insides, making his bones rattle and lungs feeling like they would collapse.

Finally, his legs gave out and he fell with an undignified thud, taking his paws to his face to hide his fear. Feeling like he hadn’t woke up at all, still in a nightmare, but worse.

  
Because  _ this _ … this was reality. And he had no way of getting out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, everyone! I have been working in this chapter for like 4 days now, but it kept getting longer and yeah, but it's here now.
> 
> Hope you like it, also, I was finally able to put together the playlist for this fic and I made a Tumblr post for it and everything, in case you want to check it out: https://norikodblackcat.tumblr.com/post/190024560864/radioshow-affliction-youtube
> 
> And I think that's all, again, thanks for the kudos and comments, they are always appreciated!


	6. Haunted

Husk woke up with a sob and lurching forward, choking as he put a hand over his neck, feeling like he was bleeding out after having his throat cut open. As it was usual, he felt no blood, nor a wound being pressed by his paw, just furr bristled and sweaty.

The demon huffed and grimaced, letting his body fall back to bed and fumbling blindly for the half-finished bottle of cheap liquor he had left laying around the night before, taking hold of it hastily before taking a big swing, the feeling of the alcohol going down his throat was an ache he welcomed, helping to do a half-assed job about distracting him from the headache that had refused to leave him alone for almost a week now, it also made the nausea swirling in his gut to become stronger. Husk cursed as he abruptly stood up, stumbling on his way towards the bathroom to finally double over the toilet, sputtering and gagging while letting out whatever shit he had on his stomach, it burned him on his way out and made him miserable.

More miserable than usual, at least. 

He spat the last bit of sickness out of his mouth and frowned in disgust, flushing the contents of the toilet and making way to wash his hands and try to look at least somewhat presentable. Although, he was finding incredibly difficult to give a shit about his appearance with each passing day. But that tended to happen when you felt utterly wrecked even before the day started.

Husk grunted while gazing at his reflection, by all means and standards, he looked like  _ shit.  _ He also felt like shit. But he supposed that made sense, someone could spend just a certain amount of times having their psyche torn open and tortured before it started to take a toll on them. As it turned out, he had been suffering through that for a month now, perhaps a bit more, and it was as fantastic as it sounded, that being, completely fucking  _ not. _ He was beaten and broken, and feeling ready to just die. In a way, he felt like that would solve every single one of his problems.

Couldn't really endure shame, fear and paranoia if you didn’t fucking exist. He sighed tiredly.

At least his dwindling mental health and physical appearances were making sense in the trainwreck that was his life.

He ended up making an attempt to clean his face and brush his teeth before giving up and moving out, no point of trying to uphold appearances when he wasn't feeling like it. Beside, he was going to end up drunk in less than an hour, so not much point about trying to fool others into believing he was approachable or something. He felt anger bubbling inside of him do to the growing apathy and carelessness, he never gave a shit, sure, not really, but that didn’t mean he wasn't professional to some extent, he had made a point about not getting wasted during his shifts for a reason.

But working to keep that up had become stupidly difficult lately.

His mind was troubled, too full of horrid thoughts and awful imaginary, a swirl of anxiety and eldritch abominations lurking in dark corners ready to jump out and devour him completely. And it was tearing him apart little by little, so he, naturedly, had needed to rely on his trustworthy coping mechanisms. People could argue about how unhealthy alcohol was, but at least it was ensuring to keep him going, besides, this was hell and nobody gave a shit.

Except, the fucking princess and maybe her girlfriend. But Husk would be damned if he attempted one of the ’strategies’ that they have suggested to him after he snapped at  _ too many  _ of the guests. The memory of how honest the concerned expressions they have both given him while talking out the issue still made him shudder in discomfort, the reassurance that he could take time off to sort out whatever was troubling him, or even ask them for help, left a bad taste on his mouth.

They couldn't help him. He was starting to believe nobody could, not really.

So whatever worry or promises they might show him felt mocking and utterly fucking useless. Husk had still promised he would work on it, though, if only to get rid of them and stop them from prying on his damned business. He really didn’t want to think about it, the whole  _ ’being drunk enough to forget about everything else’ _ should had made that clear enough. Maybe.

He huffed, shaking his head to clear his thoughts and deciding to make way to the reception already, staying on his room and looking at the way he had torned apart his bed only helped to sour his mood further, not to mention that he found almost physically painful having to endure the fucking presence of the shitty radio that had taken upon itself to strip him from the reprieve that his sleep and idling around offered. It was a curse, permanent and unrelenting, that had become clear when it appeared again and again, no matter what he did to it. And he had done a lot. Throw it out of the window, against a wall, beating it up, setting it on fire, leaving it at a tube full of water, hell, gifting it to some poor fuck on the street… you name it, Husk probably did it, only to have the same result every damned time: The radio back in the same spot of his room, looking as good as new, and nightmares haunting him all night long.

Okay, it was a lie that it was always the same, Husk had noticed, because of course he had, that even when terrible dreams were always awaiting him with the radio there, they tended to be  _ worse _ whenever he felt frustrated or motivated enough to get rid of the object in any way. Honestly, noticing that had been more of a coincidence than anything else, the first time he felt just to… done, to care about that piece of shit and what it represented, just plainly ignoring it for the rest of the day ‘til he went to sleep, just to wake up the next morning barely disturbed and with considerably less trauma than any other time. And the implication of it had been very obvious.

Things would really be less  _ difficult  _ if he played along, but that only helped to full his determination and spite to do exactly the opposite from that, he was actively taking the worst option possible just because he knew it was bothering Alastor to some degree. How did he know? Well, because he had spend enough time around the bastard to know he absolutely despised not getting his way. Alastor could prattle all he wanted about being an expert in working out deals that benefited his desires and how amusing he found the assholes that made things a bit more difficult and interesting when they didn't accept right away whatever terms he was giving them, but that wouldn’t change the real trickle of annoyance that began to grow on him the longer he was left to wait to proclaim himself  _ ‘victorious’. _ The truth was, the high and mighty Radio Demon wasn’t patient, and he was also a very  _ sore  _ loser.

Husk could testify to that with no doubt whatsoever, and it came useful when he needed to get back at the pompous son of a bitch for any reason, like right now. Because he was petty and spiteful enough to destroy himself if it meant making Alastor lose that stupid smile of his. At this point, he could say that he'd rather offer himself for extermination than allow the Radio Demon to have way with him.

However, feeling particularly relentless that day, he merely flipped his middle finger on the direction of the the radio and decided that if he was feeling the slightest bit better when he came back, he would do something else about it. Making it explode was tempting, Husk was sure he hadn't done that yet, and seeing the fucking thing blow into smithereens sounded cathartic as all hell, specially if he pictured the deer demon in place. With that image in mind, he finally stepped outside of his room and started to walk towards the reception. 

He saw a few a demons walk around carrying materials to fortify their rooms, with the approaching Yearly Extermination, the princess have taken it upon herself to ensure the safety of the hotel and its patrons, she made it a group effort, though, and requested that everyone in the place collaborated for their sake and for others, all in all, the response to that had been mildly positive, and Husk remembered that he still needed to put the barricades on his own room, if he found the strength and motivation to do that, the influx of demons had just continued to grow with each passing day, being just for the promise of refuge or for honest intention of trying to redeem themselves, it variated, but he was forced to attend every single moron that showed up all the same. At least the work was repetitive enough for him to do it despite being inebriated, and with the general sinner being too worried about not fucking up their chances of survival, they were generally less prone to start shit up. His stress made it difficult for him to  _ not _ get irritated with about the minor inconvenience, but eh, he managed.

At least he had been able to keep his nerves on check, that have been easier since he almost mauled fucking Alastor in the middle of the lobby after he had pushed too many of his buttons, with the Radio Demon backing off and stating that he would take distance until Husk felt ready to sought him out himself, and for what was worth, he had actually kept his promise. The first few days have been jarring for the cat demon, suspicious of every shadow or blur on his peripheral vision, but with every passing moment without catching the tiniest glimpse of red, he had ended up lowering his guard, just a bit. He supposed that the princess had been useful at least in that, because she had been the one to request her ‘business partner’ to “stop bothering him as he was clearly distressed”.

Anyway, that was one of the few nice things out of this fucked up situation. Another nice thing could be that the fucking spider had been pretty much avoiding him since that time when he kissed him on the cheek, Husk wasn’t sure what caused the sudden change of interest, not that he was complaining, the actor had probably found someone else to bother with his pesky demeanor or he was disgusted by how the cat demon was looking more shitty with each passing day, there were various reasons, but it didn’t really matter. He just refused to entertain the possibility that Alastor had any to do with it, because wasn't that a terrifying concept? The Radio Demon being interested enough to claim possession of him and intimidate possible competition?

The thought made him shudder, so Husk closed that box before more terrible ideas could come out.

Better to continue mussing about the flimsy  _ positives  _ on his fucked up existence. As in cue, he caught sight of Niffty running around the main floor of the hotel, carrying around too many tasks at the same time while chatting excitedly with the tiny servants of the princess, Husk had noticed that they tended to be particularly curious and attentive towards the cyclops, following her around and helping her whenever they weren't doing the same with their boss. He felt the tiniest bit of a smile curling on his lips thanks to the honest excitement radiating out of the tiny demon. Truthfully, something he actually thanked about this mess was that, since he was too busy putting all of his energy into not have a mental breakdown, he didn't have more emotional reliance to keep himself distant from others, to push away anyone who got too close, and that had helped to make his relationship with Niffty blossom fully. Before, despite all of the years they have known each other, Husk merely considered her a good acquaintance, now he could easily call her a  _ friend. _

And he would be damned, but he was extremely thankful about it, about her and how much of a support she had been. From ensuring his wounds healed properly despite all the thrashing around caused by his nightmares, to actively trying to help him get some proper rest, hell, even take time to check on him during working hours to ensure he wasn’t murdering anyone… Niffty was a really big help, Husk felt like she deserved a lot of great things and he would repay her everything she had done if he had a way. Maybe stop giving her more trouble could be a start, if only he was selfless enough to do that.

He tried to ignore his mounting guilt the moment Niffty finally spotted him, returning her salute with a half-hearted wave, finally marching the rest of the way to the frontdesk. 

He would think of a way to thank her while trying to make it through his shift.

[...]

His day had been uneventful, barely any trouble, still, Husk scowled with absolute distress, feeling exhausted and desperate and doing his best to focus his shaky vision despite the drunken haze numbing all of his senses, he almost yowled when he tripped over his own tail, wings flapping wildly in an attempt to stop a fall that didn’t come, even if the floor still looked shaky under his feet. The cat demon grunted, annoyance bubbling under his skin, he felt so damn  _ tired…  _ the morning boost had obviously disappeared, leaving behind the terribly and dingy hangover that always came after multiple bad nights, with no substantial sleep and a lot of tension put over the body. In a moment of delirium, Husk wondered if he had ever known peace and relaxation in his life, because he certainly didn’t remember how those things felt like, right at this moment. He took a moment to rest against the nearest wall, fighting nausea and gagging slightly while shuffling his feet.

Sweet damned Lucifer, he was truly wasting away.

The worst part was that he really didn’t want to return to his room, things were bleak as fuck in there and it wasn’t like he had anything to do in that place, except torture himself with the idea of resting properly, he knew that the moment he even laid down in bed, he would be forced to a fitful sleep that would leave him more tired than before. But he didn’t have other places to be either, he was just too fucking tired to make it somewhere on his own, and even if he managed, he was far too screwed to even do something remotely competent in any of the establishments he liked to frequent. He wasn’t also particularly thrilled with the idea of going to any of them, it was disheartening to admit that he had lost interest and the little semblance of joy that came to him when he thought about gambling or having some liquor, but at this point the idea of drinking for any other motives aside  _ because he had to,  _ just felt alien, and he couldn’t even remember his own tricks to win a simple round of poker.

The notion left him broken and desperate, so he decided to forget about it and just lock himself up while pretending that he could actually continue to do this. 

Just when the worst of his issues were starting to crawl out of the stupor of his addled mind, he spotted a tiny blob of orange and red moving in an out of the room next to his own, his brows furrowed,confused as to why would  _ Niffty _ be cleaning up that part of the hotel at this hour, but thanking the distraction it represented. Husk trekked closer.

“What are you doing?” He asked when he got close enough and noticed the cyclops was too focused on her current task to notice him immediately.

The question was enough to make the woman focus on Husk, her eye gleaming with happiness and her smile becoming sharper “Oh, hi, Husky! Didn’t see you there, sorry!” The last part was added as small quip, in a blink she was moving to grab one of the paws of the other demon, tugging at him until he was able to peer inside of the room “And look!”

She beamed proudly while signaling the new decoration of the place, it was quirky and lively and an exact copy of her own room a few levels down, Husk stared, dumbfounded and believing that perhaps he was hallucinating in some way. “What the hell.”

Niffty giggled “I know, right!? I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to move everything right away, but I did it! It’s still missing a few touches, though, but I’m sure I can add them after dinner is ready, which reminds me I still need to go to the store and… I’m rambling, oh my gosh!” And she closed her mouth, looking anxiously to the form of the winged cat that was still trying to decode the thing in front of him.

“Uh… I don’t think I’m following, Niff” Husk added finally, lame and rather obvious, making himself cringe internally, he tried to amend for it “I mean, why are you making a fucking doppelganger of your room? Did one of the guests asked for it or something?”

The cyclops giggled, glad that her antics hadn’t make her friend upset, then she frowned “Didn’t I tell you? I was sure I told you.”

Husk sighed, was he really doing so poorly that he forgot something like that? “I don’t think so?” He really didn’t, but to be honest, he couldn’t be sure, not with how he was “Or maybe I forgot.”

That was also a pretty big possibility, even if it was a shttty one.

“No, wait” The frown on her face deepened while she thought “You are right, I think I got too distracted and didn’t” She mumbled, to then apologize for doing something so  _ unbelievably rude. _

Husk made a gesture to make her calm down, letting a sigh of relief all the same after she gave her conclusion “Don’t get yourself on a twist, but tell me what the fuck is this thing you didn’t tell me.”

“Oh, yeah!” She nodded, smiling once more and making tiny jumps in her place “I’m moving in!”

“What?” He was being an ace of conversation at the moment, fucking hell “Why? I thought you liked the view from the room you chose?” 

Niffty appeared to deflate with that inquiry, but she tried to return to his upbeat demeanor “Well, yes, but I thought that this way I could help you better with your nightmares, you know? I plan to stay focused so that when I hear the slightest hint that you are distressed, I will just come over here and wake you up! Hopefully that way you will be able to go back to sleep without having another nasty dream.”

She smiled, full of confidence and pride, and Husk felt his stomach churn knowing it was unlikely that despite her intentions, that would help, instead he scoffed quietly and looked away “You didn’t have to pull this shit.”

“That’s what friends are for, silly” She snickered, squeezing the paw she was still holding and giving him an honest smile that, despite it all, was weird to see in her. Husk returned it with a crooked curvature of his own lips.

“That’s so fucking cheesy” He groaned, then more quietly “Thank you.”

And despite the hopelessness on his heart, he meant it.

[...]

Niffty hummed pleasantly while she did her last cleaning duty of the day, setting in order whatever think was out of place in her new room, it was true she liked much better the view that was given in where she used to be, but here she could accommodate her stuff much better, so she wasn’t losing that much in the long run. Besides, she was closer to one of her bestest friends! And that was another plus for this room, all in all, more wins than losses, her sleep was pretty light already and she didn’t need that much all the same, so she really wasn’t making any sort of sacrifice by looking out for Husk.

And, in a way, she felt it was the least she could do to make up for the fact she was glad for whatever was going on with the other demon, if only because it helped to bring them closer. The thought, like always, made her shudder, she was such a terrible friend, it didn’t matter just how terrible or worried she felt whenever she saw Husk and how much he had been deteriorating in the last few weeks, it was certainly ugly she felt  _ happy  _ do to the way that helped to make their relationship evolve. So rude.

She pouted and stomped her feet, displeased, trying to squash the nasty bug swirling around her head. Then she heard something that sounded kind of like a muffled cry, the sound made her jump in alarm and she ran until she was against the wall, trying to get a more proper inkling of the sound, things were irely quiet for a moment and then there was a scream. It made her stumble back, fear lurching between all her feelings.

“Husk!” It was a screech, as she scrambled towards her door and into the hallway, banging worriedly at the entrance of the room of her friend “Husk, wake up, please!” She yelled, panic growing the longer she didn’t get an answer, she stood there, not knowing what else to do and hearing with mounting despair the constant stream of whimpers and shouts. Finally, throwing manners to the pit, she let her giant sewing needle appear on her grasp, using it to tear through the door and then pushing forward.

Her breath hitched when she found herself inside the place, finally catching ancient notes and red sigils permeating the atmosphere, making her skin crawl, her eye moved wildly around the room, seeing Husk toss and turn around his sheets, seizing over himself like he was dying, and then to the radio on the other side, on and playing that horrid melody. Instinct taking over, she merely threw herself against the object, piercing through it with a defining screech and crackle, sparks flying out as she continued to stab the object until it was completely destroyed.

She fell to her knees, afraid and feeling like she was about to cry, then Husk gasped in alarm and sat up abruptly, coughing and gagging as if he was going to throw up, and Niffty was next to him in an instant, hugging him as hard as she could, the cat demon wheezed do to the impact caused by her body, tensing up under her touch to start relaxing little by little, finally moving a paw to pat at her head, curling around her, wings draping over the both of them.

Niffty’s heart clenched painfully in her chest when she heard Husk’s breath hitch and then tears began to stain her shirt, she felt her lip gubble pitifully and she hid her face against the soft fur of the winged creature, holding him even tighter and moving her hand in sudding motions over his back. Niffty did her best to hold together the demon breaking between her fingers, and for the first time in a long time, she wondered if she was capable enough to manage.

“You can’t continue like this” She said, voice horse and mute, honest and terrified for his friend. Knowing, now for sure, that he was in a worst situation that she had thought.

Pained and fearful, Husk agreed with her.

[...]

The both of them had spend the rest of the night holding each other, not talking, Niffty was unsure of what else to say, too deep in thought, just like Husk. Somehow, this incident in particular had felt like an ultimatum, a cautionary tale to warn them that something needed to be done about the situation.

For Husk, it was like receiving the last punch to a toppling mountain of guilt, having a metaphorical blind being taken off his eyes, forcing him to face the fact that he couldn’t continue down this path, because this wasn’t just about him anymore, he wasn't just hurting himself by doing this, he was hurting the only other person that have managed to force their way into his heart and he couldn’t do that to her. Because he cared, fuck! He cared a lot, even when he promised himself to never do it again.

And now he needed to do something to show Niffty just how much he cared and show her his gratitude for real. He never wanted her to get involved, but after this, it was clear they were past that point and a different approach was in order.

Husk grimaced, it was clear that his current method wasn’t working, perhaps all of his aggression and passive contempt were really inconveniencing the fucking bastard, but in the long run he wasn’t achieving much else aside for destroying himself piece by piece, maybe he needed a more direct approach, sometimes, when playing the game, a change of strategy was needed, adapt according to the demands that were put in place. It didn’t mean he was losing, if not that he was seeking a better approach, even if that entailed playing a little into Alastor’s hand.

[...]

The next morning found Husk taking the same path that had started the worst experience of his afterlife, uneasiness still clawed at his innards and he needed to remind himself about Niffty’s crying face just to not turn around and act like nothing had ever happened. But he needed to do this, he needed to put his best on if he wanted to get even the tiniest possibility of making it through this shit.

Finally, he found himself in front of the gates separating him from sinking lower into the scheming of the Radio Demon, he was shaking and it angered him to no end, being this… weak and afraid. The wrath helped him to calm his nerves and he used that momentum to finally push open the door, on the other side, Alastor awaited, checking paperwork like nothing in the world was bothering him, he still had the face to look surprised when he spotted him, but Husk had to use every bit of strength he possessed to not start shaking like a leaf. He was better than that, damn it.

“What the fuck do you want?” Finally, and before the bastard could make any sound at all, he demanded to know, forceful and proud about the fact his voice didn’t betray how unsure he truly was.

Alastor smiled like he had just been gifted the most precious thing in his life “Why, darling, I thought you never asked!”

Husk shuddered and remained still, bristling in a way to look intimidating “Yeah, well?”

“Impatient as ever, my dear?” Alastor hummed, looking at him goodnaturedly before laughing, standing up and circling his desk “Of course, it has been a while now, surely all that time apart most have been particularly…  _ distressing.” _ Husk felt ready to respond with violence, strategy be damned, Alastor really knew how to get under his skin, although, he sounded quite honest about everything he was saying and Husk would be lying if he said that didn’t terrify him even more “I have to say I’m impressed by your ability to hold a grudge, though, beloved, and I will surely keep that in mind for the rest of our relationship.”

He sounded promising, and by the way he rested himself against his desk, it was clear he wasn’t trying to be menacing, not that it mattered to Husk, at this point, anything that Alastor did that was the tiniest bit related to him, felt like a fucking threat “Quit your fucking prattle and get to the point already!” He sneered.

“Patience, Husker!” The deer demon chided him, making him huff and glare, getting an affectionate sigh in return “Fine then, I guess it doesn’t hurt to tell you now,” He relented finally, starting to walk once more towards the other entity “I’m going to take you to a small social gathering, I’m sure you will find it enjoyable, so do be ready at seven sharp, dearest, I will be waiting for you at the entrance of the hotel.”

“Fine” Husk snarled, slapping away the hand that had been coming towards one of his cheeks, hissing to hide his flinch and turning away to leave. He didn’t have any reason to stay around much longer and he wasn’t sure what he would end up doing if he did.

“Make sure you rest properly, love! You look awfully tired.” Alastor taunted, playfully and with dark fondness.

“Go fuck yourself!” Husk seethed in aggravation but didn’t turn around.

[...]

Husk shuffled anxiously while he waited, he felt on edge despite the fact that he had ended up taking a very pleasant nap before dragging himself to the place that Alastor had requested of him, the truth was, it only helped to make his paranoia come back at full force, the fact that the Radio Demon had allowed him to rest could only relate to the fact that he was planning something related to this shitty outing, at least that looked to be the case for him. Whatever it was, he still needed to keep it together, losing his shit at the start of all of this could only backfire on him in some way, and who knew, maybe if he annoyed the other bastard enough while doing this, he would decide to finally leave him the fuck alone.

A demon could dream.

“Ah, there you are! And right on time too, I knew you were a gentleman, Husker!” The sudden appearance startled him and he turned around to swipe at the impertinent bastard, his attack was barely dodged and made Alastor laugh “Sharp as always, dearest!”

“Stop fooling around, you son of a bitch,” His reprimand was met by an amused look and thoughtful hum that made him roll his eyes “This is just called having manners.”

“Of course, of course,” The Radio Demon agreed mockingly, before making his mic stand appear on his hand using it to point towards the street where a very classy and old-looking car awaited “Shall we?”

“Whatever.” 

Before Husk could protest, Alastor was already passing one of his arms around his shoulder and walking him towards the car, letting go just to open the door of the vehicle for him “Darling.”

Without any more option, the cat demon huffed in indignation and climbed in, but before Alastor could lock the door for him too, he grabbed hold of the handle and pulled “Quit pulling shit like this.”

His hissed warning only made Alastor chuckle and he trudged to the side of the driver, getting in and starting the car “There’s no shame in being treated with care, love. Just let me take care of you!”

Husk scoffed “No way in hell, bastard, I wouldn’t trust you to even tell me  _ ‘Bless you’  _ without it having some sort of strings attached.”

“Well, of course I have to know when to pull off a deal, but that doesn’t apply to you.” The reassurance felt empty to Husk.

“And why the fuck is that?” He asked still, just to keep the conversation going and keep his nervousness at bay.

“Because you are special to me, of course” The way Alastor said that made Husk’s blood ran cold.

“Stop saying shit like that” The cat demon warned between clenched teeth, making Alastor laugh.

“It’s just the truth, no need to be ashamed about it.” The statement only made the feeling of discomfort to grow stronger, because Husk knew it was.

“Try with disgusted,” It was a growl, Alastor only made an amused sound.

“Oh, Husker, don’t be like that! After all...” He made a dramatic pause while parking the vehicle, to then look outside, directing the attention of his companion to the edification they were going to be visiting “I’m doing my best to please you.”

It was a croon, but Husk was to busy eyeing the bright lights and sharp edges of the casino that was standing in front of him, alluring and enormous, Husk didn’t want to feel anything but hateful towards the situations Alastor forced into him, but this… this actually felt like an honest attempt of making him have a good time. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He didn't even wait for the Radio Demon to say anything else before he was scrambling out of the car.

In the end, this was the place that Husk had always wanted to visit since he winded up in hell, but never managed because he lacked the economy and status to do so. It didn’t appear like that was an issue anymore.

“Happy, I presume?” The whisper and hands holding him close to another body managed to break the daze that had pulled him under, making his body tense.

“Don’t touch me!” He hissed instead, but his attempts to leave the hold didn’t achieve much, and soon he was getting pulled along towards the doors of the establishment “Why did you bring me here, bastard?”

“To have a good time, mainly,” The unimpressed look prompted him to continue “And to meet a few of my smaller associates, since I intend to pursue a serious relationship with you, it would be convenient if you start to grow accustomed to the social circles I frequent.” Husk muttered curses and the certainty that  _ of course he had ulterior motives _ “Don’t worry, though, we will do it slowly, I wouldn’t want to overwhelm you.” And he nuzzled lightly the demon in his grasp, shuddering with delight.

“Could you fucking stop!?” Husk fuzzed, trying to punch him in the gut and throw him off him with not much success, he growled in exasperation. Alstor ignored him.

“Now, you will have as much credit as you need while we are here, so make sure to enjoy yourself. However, you will have to play nice and spend some time with the demons we have come to meet, I know you hate to deal with others but there will be times when I can’t do all the talking, this is about you, for a reason” The Radio Demon spoke with complete knowledge of his words, as if he was talking to someone too dense or socially inept.

“Don't coddle me, fucking bastard!” It really pissed Husk off,  _ he  _ had grown in a casino, damn it! He knew how to sweet talk the kind of people that frequented this sort of places, of course he despised to pretend something he wasn't, but in there? Husk didn't need any shitty facade to fit in. He thrived in the world of gambling. Knew how to bend things to get in.

Fueled by his rage, the cat demon used his claws and moved them to pierce one of the sides of the taller man, making him hiss and let go, he continued forward and finally made it through the doors of the place, mastering his expression and eyeing everything with a critical an unimpressed look. A few heads turned to look at him and he recognized the expression of people that thought him fresh blood, easily fooled, he couldn’t even feel offended, because that played in his favor in the long run. Then a hand was curling on his shoulder like a vice and whatever excitement had been moving through his veins, just dropped altogether.

“What a way to make a first impression, dearest!” Alastor proclaimed, loud and cheery, making more heads turn their way with curiosity, just to look away the moment the eyes of the deer demon passed over them “Although, do try to not be so bold in front of my associates, wouldn't want them getting any ideas that could put on jeopardy our partnership.”

The hold on his shoulder grew tighter, making him yelp, the threat of those words and actions ringing clearly “Okay, you insufferable idiot.”

“Excellent! Now, come this way, darling.” And Husk found himself being dragged towards a group formed by a bunch of snobby and shady looking characters, the type he tended to despise with extreme passion, like Alastor but less powerful, which only made their attitude even worse.

He ended up exchanging pleasantries and tolerating a constant stream of inquiries and offensive quips, that he returned with monotonous voice and unimpressed eyes, his favorite moment of the whole shitshow was when someone suggested to play a small game of poker, just to end up winning the whole thing, the victory still felt bittersweet when he felt the overly-pleased presence of Alastor putting attention to every single one of his movements, he was being suffocated and Husk despised it completely. 

When the pressure, annoyance and anxiety became to much, he managed to sneak away under the pretense of going to the bathroom, there he took some time out to breath and try to get his shit together before continuing with this whole fuckery, on the corner of his eye he spotted an open window and to his mind came the idea of fleeing, but he caught a swirl of shadows that looked a little bit too odd and he knew that a hazardous escape attempt wouldn't gain him anything. So with growing sickness, he walked back to the saloon.

He ended up diverting to the bar, requesting one cocktail after the other, maybe he should go back to Alastor and his obnoxious groupies, but maybe the bastard could go fuck himself, if he tried to start shit, Husk would just tell him he got sidetracked do to the alcohol. He managed to get at least five drinks, making the voices muttering worries and warnings in his head shut up, before Alastor came looking for him, and he thanked the effect of the beverages because he somehow managed to convince the deer demon to let him wind up a little and show  _ why _ exactly he liked casinos so much. The rest of the night had been good, more so than what he expected, between managing to teach a thing or two to the fucking bastard, to show off his expertise in something he actually enjoyed, he almost felt back in control over his own life.

Then, when they were almost back in front of Alastor’s car, the demon decided to grow bolder with his advances, and held him by the waist before leaning down to try and get a kiss. Husk had punched him in the jaw before he got the chance, feeling the crack of bones under his fist, seeing things crumbling back down before him. He probably cursed in every language he knew, before flapping his wings and fleeing.

Even from afar, he could hear the pleased chuckle that Alastor made, and he trembled.

That night, he didn’t dream of charred corpses and torned skin, instead having visions of tender touches and happy memories. 

Husk still felt like crying and throwing up.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is oficially the longest thing I have ever written, so I hope that explains why it took so lonf to be done. Also, I will be focusing in finishing this up before my break is over, so my other series for this two will be put on hold.
> 
> Anyway, as always thank you fore reading. Kudos and comments are always very appreciated.


	7. Decode - Niffty's Interlude

Niffty was…  _ nervous  _ would be a good way to describe it. Maybe. Standing one turn away from Alastor’s office and squirming constantly while waiting, with bated breath, to get herself under control before moving forward.

That level of uneasiness was unusual for her, somehow, she was sure she hadn't experienced it since the first time she had woken up in hell, shocked and afraid and feeling like she was going to break down in tears at any second. Given the current situation, though, she supposed the dread swirling on her gut was more than justified, after all, having the intention to confront someone that was a very important to her, was far from easy. Alastor was her first friend, and the idea of upsetting him was downright terrifying, Niffty didn’t want to offend him for being indescrate, because, perhaps she was being unfair or reading too much into things, and that wasn’t something good friends did. And if she was a bad friend, then, surely, Alastor wouldn’t want anything to do with her and she would lose him  _ and she would be lonely again. _

Except that wasn’t true, not really, Niffty had tons of friends now, she was no longer frowned upon and judged merely for her race, here in hell, she had managed to found people that accepted her and cared about her and returned the friendliness she gave around, even if sometimes it was hard to remember that. She took a deep breath and puffed her chest, willing herself to be brave, if not for her, then, for Husk.

Because he needed help and it would be worse if she looked away and pretended that she didn’t know what was happening to him, because she had felt gleeful about his struggle and suffering for bringing them closer, and this might be her only chance to make up for that.

With her resolution back, she began to trek towards the office, finding the door mildly open, taking one last deep breath and poking her head in, knocking quickly to get the attention of the other demon. Alastor paused what he was doing to watch curiously in her direction, his usual smile prompted Niffty to relax further and give a smile of her own.

“Oh, hello there, darling! I wasn’t expecting you today” His words held amusement and the excitement on them prompted the start of conversation “Come on in, don’t be a stranger!”

Permission granted, Niffty entered into the place “Hi, Al! I hope I’m not interrupting... because that wasn't my intention and I could come back later if you are busy!”

“Nonsense, dear! I'm just advancing some businesses since I have a very important outing tonight,” Alastor merely laughed at her concerns, moving his hand as to dismiss them entirely, turning his chair so he was facing her fully “Take a seat and tell me what do you need!” With his mic stand now in hand, he made another movement of wrist to make another chair appear on the other side of the desk next to the cyclops.

“Thank you.” She began to climb on the object, getting comfortable and sighing “And, well, I first want to say that I’m not trying to be rude or pry into something that is not of my concern, so please don't take this the wrong way! Because I don't want to offend you, but I’m really worried, and Husk looks so stressed out lately… that I don't really want to bother him by asking, so I figured it would be best to talk to you, but now I'm just rambling. Sorry!” The last word was a forceful quip while she clamped her mouth shut, at some point during her rant she had stood atop of the chair and, ashamed, she ducked her head and scrambled to sit back down, folding her hands quickly “I just want to know what’s going between the both of you.”

Her heart pounded loudly on her chest but Niffty did her best at acting unaffected, honestly the nerves were killing her and she felt like she had started everything in the worst way possibly, she was so forceful, truly, there were better ways to go about the situation, not that it could be helped at this point, perhaps she could backtrack and request Alastor to forget about it, that could work out depending on how Alastor took the whole thing. But before she got too lost on her own thoughts, the Radio Demon chuckled, not menacingly, which meant he wasn't upset, even better, the ring the sound have had was an  _ actual _ pleasant one. Alastor wasn’t mad at all, Niffty let out a small puff of air she didn’t realize she had been holding.

“Darling, please! I wouldn't take badly your concerns towards sweet Husker! In fact, I'm really glad he has someone that looks after him so dutifully” The deer demon grinned, it was the sort of gesture he gave her whenever he was particularly satisfied with the way she had fulfilled a task, normally it would make her preen for the positive undertones, now she felt indecisive about it, even if she couldn’t pinpoint why “Now, to answer your question, have you ever been in love, dear Niffty?”

The question was unexpected and it clearly showed in her face, Alastor merely continued to look at her, tilting his head as if prompting her to answer, but Niffty didn’t really know what to say. She wasn’t sure what does that had to do with the subject, even if she kinda  _ did,  _ she saw the gruesome ‘gifts’ and was present during that small fight on the hall… but somehow she had still expected something different, like all of it being Alastor’s newest plot to get under Husk’s skin or payback after a disagreement between the two, the cyclops new how much the Radio Demon liked to annoy their friend and how petty he could be if he felt affronted, even if this time it felt more terrible and personal. Now she knew that the thing she least expected was probably the answer she had been looking for, in the end, Alastor sounded sincere in his inquiry, the tone of his voice, the look in his eyes and the posture he held, they were all things Niffty had learned almost obsessively how to read, and all of it at the moment showcased honesty, or as honest as Alastor could be.

And that made her ponder the question with seriousness. Had she ever been in love? Niffty thought she had, maybe, since she was alive she had dreamed about meeting the right man and making him fall in love with her, going in dates and then getting married to have a nice and perfect family where she could be a dutiful and doting wife. She never managed to do that, though, just like he never managed to make friends, but that didn’t mean that she hadn't felt her heart flutter excitedly in her chest when she thought of someone, blushing when she remembered his smile, but was that love?

She thought it was, at least, that was what everyone else had told her. So finally, she answered “Yeah, I think so.”

Alastor nodded in understanding and squinted, sighing dreamily “Then, you must be aware of how love can be such a messy thing, and how it gets you to do crazy things, isn’t that right?”

Uncertain once more, Niffty merely nodded her head in agreement “I suppose so.”

“So you should understand where I’m trying to get with this” Alastor hummed “You see, a few months ago I realized that my feelings for good ol’ Husker had changed, for I was now thoroughly smitten at the mere sight of him” He left out a pleased noise, pausing dramatically “Naturally, I decided to do the only possible thing and let my affections to be known, to start to court my darling properly. But you know Husker, he is stubborn and doesn’t react kindly to change, so of course he forced me into taking tactics a bit more… forceful.”

Niffty noticed the dark glint that had started to spread across Alastor’s expression, intimidating and certain, she swallowed and squirmed on her seat, with a ton of questions scrambling around her thoughts “But Husk is hurting, is that… should that be happening?” She wondered, frowning, she thought love was supposed to be nice and pleasant, making you feel all fuzzy and flustered, not tired and traumatized, deteriorating little by little every single day, terrorized beyond belief. But Alastor said love made you do crazy things, and that was also something Niffty had heard at some point.

“Well…” The deer demon stretched, unbothered by the distress showcased by the tinier entity “Desperate situations require desperate measures, my dear. And I might accept I’ve found myself in terrible need for the returned affections of my sweetheart.”

And he had sounded bitter while he said that, expression souring despite the permanent curvature on his lips, Niffty felt conflicted still, even if she was starting to understand that maybe this was an evil necessity “So you didn’t mean to. Or well, you meant it, but didn’t want to?”

“Something like that, yes” Alastor gave her another pleased look “Of course, I understand why you felt so worried, and even if I don't feel particularly guilty about the things I have done, I think you will find particularly lovely to hear that things between us are taking a turn for the better, I know I did.”

The cyclops perked up at that despite herself “Really?” Hope growed in her chest, because, surely, that could only mean that Husk was not going to be suffering and struggling through life anymore.

“Indeed! My sweetheart appears to be coming around, seeing how we are going to have our first date tonight and everything!” Alastor sounded beyond cheerful while stating that, smile wide and crazed “I’m confident this rough patch will start to fall behind us.”

“Ohhhh,” The other demon managed to say rather lamely, making herself cringe, realizing that this was probably caused because she prompted Husk to stop letting himself be consumed, was it for the best? “You really think so?”

Alastor laughed goodnaturedly “Definitely!”

Niffty smiled despite herself, he sounded so confident about it, Alastor really had a way to make her feel like she could trust every word he said, perhaps it was the certainty on his body language or the way his words carried a tone full of security. Whatever it was, it made her worries ease up little by little, listening to Alastor talk and swoon about Husk and the plans he made for him, the places where he thought to take him and the notions of a future together. It sounded lovely. And Niffty found herself excited for it all, adding a few ideas or suggestions that she thought would make things better, the deer demon showed himself grateful about some of them, humming about how he hoped all of his attentions paid up so he could manage to convince the winged cat to move with him before the start of the next yearly extermination, ‘for his own security’.

Niffty thought it was extremely romantic.

When she finally left, her steps carried her usual cheer. She felt light, out of worry, sure that things will finally be better for her dear friend. Because she wasn’t the only one that cared, Alastor did too! Quite a lot, actually, and know he was going be able to show it to Husk for real. And they would work out everything that happened and solve it and start anew, and everything would be perfect-

Except…

_ “Don’t believe anything he tells you!” _

Remembering does words felt like a punch. The anger inside them, the desperation, the hurt. Husk had appeared a force to be reckoned with when saying them, but he also felt as frail as a piece of glass, like a trapped animal ready to lash out, pleading  _ at her _ to, what? Be sensitive? Have his back?

Niffty fussed about it, the giddiness in her heart dissipating as doubts and worries returned at full force. Could it be? That Alastor was not as honest as she believed him to be? But… she had known him for so long! Longer than she had known Husk, but despite that, the cat demon was also so open and honest. And he trusted her, a lot, Niffty knew that for sure, for the shared secrets and the open vulnerability, and the patience and the time lended to her even before things grew between them. Because Alastor might be her first friend, but Husk was one of the  _ bests,  _ if not the  _ bestest _ of all. What could be said of her if she sided with Alastor on this after she did her best to hold Husk together just the night before?

After he had been put through hell and back by the same demon that claimed to care  _ oh so deeply  _ about him?

Niffty felt distressed, biting her lip and wringing her hands, conflicted. Maybe, just maybe, she couldn't trust Alastor at all.

[...]

Niffty spent the next few days with worry gnawing at her heart, looking for some kind of security from any place she could find, her happy attitude felt like a facade even when she didn’t really mean for it to be like that, and she knew others had noticed too, at least to some extent, for the concerned vocalizations Razzle and Dazzle gave whenever she zoned out while cleaning the hotel, and the doubtful glances and questions Husk made, even Charlie had made it clear that she could approach her if anything was bothering her… Niffty thanked them with the same enthusiasm and reassurance, knowing that some things were better left unsaid. In this case, she felt like talking about it would only complicate everything, put more pressure into Husk and incriminate her in some way.

She would have to admit all her guilts: about her enjoyment of Husk’s suffering, her momentarily support of Alastor actions, and her current uncertainty about who to believe. She didn’t want to face the judgement to any of them, because they all felt evil and horrid, condemning, scary.

Besides, surely, she could sort all of this out on her own. She was already investigating, working to come up with fine conclusions and ideas of how to proceed. Dedicating special attention to every couple she could spot, their dynamics, the feelings they showed. All of it was vastly different, that was the first thing she’d come to realize. Some were sweet and understanding, with light teasing and tender touches, like Vaggie and Charlie, they completed each other perfectly, fulfilling the weaknesses of the other and thriving through their strengths, and they were so lovely to watch… others were like that, too, despite this being hell, they were good. Others, however, were mean, chaotic and horrible, full of insults and threats, violence, dark possessiveness and sneered hurt, there was something oddly beautiful about them as well, but for the most part, Niffty disliked them and she feared that was how things would be for Husk.

She knew him and Alastor enough to believe they could be any of the two, but as things currently were, with the justified torture and one-sided hatred, she could almost tell which one was the most probable option to take form. Because even when Al had told her things would change for the better between them, the truth was that hadn’t happened at all, not yet, maybe not ever, as Husk had been more tired, showcasing a new kind of despair. Sadder, with the start of putrid resignation glowing on his eyes, fire fizzling out everytime he frowned and bared his teeth to accept the invitations the Radio Demon graciously lended to him. 

Her support didn’t appear to be helping anymore, not really, Husk still smiled at her, speaking softly and accepting the comfort she offered, but it wasn’t the same. Like Husk was dying and taking whatever good thing he could get.

But maybe some relationships were like that, or maybe the changes Alastor mentioned would come later on. Would it be wise to risk it, though? She didn’t think so, in all honesty.

Niffty sighed with exasperation, stomping her feet and glaring at the portrait she had been dusting, everything would be easier if she knew how other romances of Al had worked out. But she couldn’t ask him that, not only because she was unsure of his honesty about it, but also because prying about something like that would be rude of her.

Although, she paused her movements for a second, perhaps she could ask about it to someone that wasn't Al, right? Someone who had known him even before dead, maybe it wasn’t the nicest thing to do, gossip about a friend behind his back, but it was the only option she could think of right now. Besides, Mimzy was wonderfully respectful and discreet.

[...]

Setting a meeting had been easy, in the end, the both of them hadn’t been able to talk since she started working at the hotel, and Mimzy had been beyond thrilled when she called. That was how Niffty found herself moving through the expanses of one of the most exclusive clubs that could be found on that circle of hell, searching for the figure of her favorite girl friend, the sound of a melodic laughter made her turn around, catching sight of blonde hair and a lovely smile, Niffty squealed, delightened as she ran with ease to the other woman.

“Mimzy!” Her scream showed all of her happiness and for a second, she was able to forget of the pressure that had been weighing her down for the last few weeks, she jumped to wrap her arms around the other demon “I’m so happy to see you!”

“Oh, my darling Niffty! As lovely as always!” Mimzy put aside the cocktail she was carrying, scooping the tinier creature in her arms and holding her close “It has been so long! Come now, I have prepared a room just for the both of us, we have so much catching up to do!”

Niffty giggled, smiling and standing on her tiptoes the moment she was put back down “We do! Thank you for having me, Mim!”

“It’s my delight, sweety” Mimzy hummed, picking her drink up and beginning to walk towards the back of her club, leading the way towards the private quarters and getting conversation going.

For Niffty, it was simple to get distracted, welcoming the change of tone in her life and taking pleasure on the tiny jokes and happy chat, being glad for the drinks and pastries that were waiting for them in the small space where they were having their reunion. She lost track of time, and a few hours had surely passed when she finally reminded herself of the reason why he was there. She sighed, putting aside her drink and biting her lip.

“What worries you, darling?” Mimzy frowned, her change in mood clearly not going unnoticed. Niffty shook all over, apologizing for ruining the evening with her problems, but the flapper was not having any of that, dismissing her guilt “Don’t trouble yourself thinking like that, we are friends! And I want to help you, so please, a penny for your thoughts?”

Niffty smiled, thankful for having Mimzy in her life, feeling more comfortable with what she was about to say, she looked around the room nervously, ensuring there wasn’t a radio laying around and scooting closer to the other woman “I want to talk about Alastor.”

She moved back again quickly, with her heart pounding loudly in her chest as she waited for the reaction of her friend. The owner of the club made a face before sighing “What did that showman did this time?”

“That’s… well,” She took a deep breath, getting her thoughts under control to get a more clear idea of how to ask “Has he ever been in love?”

“Love?” Mimzy’s eyes widened and her mouth reminded agap, the cyclops felt the urge to take the subject back and apologize for bringing up something that was probably a sore subject for the other woman “Well, that’s quite an unexpected question, though, I suppose this means the rumors of Alastor flaunting around a new sweetheart are true.” 

Niffty nodded frantically, her next words being almost a squeak “He confirmed it to me some days ago, and I know I should be happy for him but I, I don't know, I’m worried!” She shuddered, conflict bubbling inside her “Am I bad friend? I want to be supportive, I really do, but Husk just…!” The tiny demon clamped her mouth shut and flushed in embarrassment, she had talked more than she should and was making such a scandal, but she couldn't deny it felt liberating to put all of her fears and frustration of the past weeks into words. She just hopped her outburst didn't upset the other demon.

“Husk… oh dear” Mimzy sighed again, with heaviness marking the little puff of air, she put down her cup and put a hand over her eyes before looking back at Niffty with seriousness she had never seen before, it made something ugly start to slither in her gut “Darling, I’m about to tell you something, and my intention is not to worry you further, but to sugarcoat this would only mean hiding the truth from you” She took a deep breath “Alastor has actually been in ’love’ before” The flapper frowned with displeasure “At least that's what he called it.

“Anyways, this is actually a tale from before hell, while we were still alive and human, young too, you already know that we were good friends since childhood, but we never told you about another person that came along while we were teens. She was a total sweety, fun and of quick wit, it took time, but it was easy to spot the moment Al started to look at her in a different light, he never really hid his fanzy for her, and it was clear she returned the interest with pleasure. They were a match made in heaven, I have to accept I was green with jealousy seeing them go. We all taught they were meant to be.

“But… men like Alastor don’t know how to love, not really.”

Mimzy paused in her tale, blinking away tears, Niffty moved to her almost by instinct, snaking her arms around the waist of the other woman, the hug was returned quickly, seeking all the comfort she could offer “What happened?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, not wanting to, but  _ needing _ to know. 

“She was the first victim of the New Orleans killer” Mimzy hissed immediately, grim “Of course the police never managed to prove it, but I  _ knew  _ the second I saw him, with his stupid big smile and feigned heartache and hurt” Her voice broke as her lip wobbled, full of guilt and sorrow “He did it and he had the nerve to lie to my face, the only murder he never admitted to me. I wanted to resent him but…” A choked sob “He is charming and I’m foolish, I never stood a chance.”

Niffty trembled, hiding her face against the chest of Mimzy, the truth finally in front of her, big and horrible, its implications a living nightmare.

“M-maybe, maybe things will be different this time” She mumbled, but it lacked authenticity even to her own ears, she was trying to be hopeful, believe that things would work out without having to see one of her friends disappear from the picture “Sorry.”

She knew better.

Mimzy chuckled “Darling, we both know Alastor never does things by half” A pause “This will be over when he wants it to be.”

_ When he wants to end Husk. _

“Don’t commit the same mistake I did.”

[...]

Niffty waited.

Dusting the multiple portraits at the main hall while keeping an eye on the frontdesk where a bristling Husk was cussing his heart out towards the Radio demon that had come to  _ wish him a good morning,  _ like everyday, Husk didn’t stop his advances, but he showed his hatred to all of them, the cyclops felt the need to approach and help him out in some way, but she couldn’t risk to have Alastor doubt about her loyalties. So she hummed and moved around, until the deer demon disappeared in a flash of smoke, probably to attend to his businesses outside of the hotel.  _ Perfect. _

She felt nerves and accusing screeches naw at her from the inside, but ignored them the best she could, focusing on finding the slender form of the resident spider that she was sure she spotted  _ just a few seconds ago… there,  _ just turning to leave the lobby.

Niffty hurried after him, knowing that if he missed him now, she would need to wait for another opportunity as convenient as this one, and she couldn't allow herself the benefit of doing that, the yearly extermination was nearing and it wasn’t going to wait for her to act “Angel!”

“Hm?” The spider moved his attention away from his phone, looking back to spot the tiny figure running at him at full speed, making him stumble when she got in his way “Hey! What gives, short stuff?” His eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

“Sorry!” The cyclops yelped, expression tense despite herself, she still had doubts and a part of her wished fiercely to just forget this whole ordeal, but she couldn't, not when she knew what was at stake.

“So? Are you going to move or what?” Angel Dust looked down at the demon that appeared to be having a tiny breakdown in front of him, curious but still disinterested. His words appeared to be enough to snap her out of whatever train of thought she had started, because she was looking right back at him now.

“Oh, right!” She took another deep breath, directing her gaze down the hall to where she knew Husk was, tired, hurting and  _ hopeless,  _ feeling confidence grown in her “Do you know where I could get in contact with… the black market?”

Niffty knew some people, but those were contacts Alastor had as well, and asking them directly would be like a plea to have him find out. And that couldn’t happen.

Angel merely raised a brow at her “You're speaking with the son of a mafia boss, babe, of course I know where to get the goods” He smiled, cocky and with light mockery “What do you want to get?”

Niffty doubted just for a second before answering “An angelic weapon.”

The spider sputtered, not expecting that of all things “The fuck? Are you sure you want to mess with that…?” He finally took notice as to where the cyclops was glaring with determination, to his mind came the image of a deteriorating cat demon and a chilling smile, and he shuddered “Yeah, okay” Angel Dust huffed, he could do that “When do you need this?”

_ There was not turning back. _

“As soon as you can get it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's here! Sorry for how long this took, but I started the next semester at college so... yeah. Hope you liked the new chapter, though! We are approaching the end and the Warnings of the fic had been updated accordingly, so keep an eye on those.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading, kudos and comments are always appreciated. ^^


	8. You're Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Warnings have been updated, please be mindfull of them! This chapter includes non-consensual drug use and, while there's no sexual abuse per se, there's pretty heavy non-consensual touching.

There was a soft hum somewhere at his right, Husk, amused and certain, merely spared a quick side-glance to the entity that made the sound, keeping most of his attention over his cards and a bit on his surroundings, if only to ensure that he didn't get caught unprepared in a trap or the espionage of his hand. He knew he could win, almost certainly actually, and it was clear Alastor knew too. 

A smile almost tugged at the corners of his lips.

He still kept scowling. 

"Ah, you look awfully disgruntled, my dear Husker!" Was the call made a few moments later, Husk snorted but kept himself mostly the same and the action was both appalling and attractive to the Radio Demon. "Perhaps a small rest is in order?"

A small pitiful distraction, it caused Husk to cough before making a light but friendly face of annoyance "You really are desperate to distract me today."

"You think so, love?" Alastor grinned innocently, moving a card in the composition he was making. 

"Oh, I know so, you bastard" Husk grunted, then smirking "I'm going to win and you know it, that's why you are looking for ways to distract me" he tried to get rid of a card he didn't need anymore and look for something that would help him. He snickered when he saw his newest addition to the hand, knowing the game was pretty much closing in his favor. Fantastic. 

"Hm, maybe I'm just not trying hard enough." The quip was fast, promising and perfect, making affection and the need for closeness in his heart to grow, tainting him completely. 

Husk smiled, soft at first, then daring, before proclaiming the end of the game and moving forward in an act equal parts playful and serious "You should try harder next time."

"Is that a suggestion, beloved?" Alastor wondered, narrowing his eyes and moving forward as well, almost brushing his lips "Because I wouldn't mind taking it."

Another harsh smile "Then do it, pussy."

The Radio Demon lunged forward, making their lips connect and having Husk melt completely into him, sated and euphoric,<strike> in a lie,</strike> well cared for and complete, and it was easy to get lost into it, in the warmth, in the illusion of tenderness. Anger, real and searing burned him from the inside out, and when they finally parted, Husk was glaring at the man in front of him, hateful, afraid. 

"I don't fucking love you." A hiss. 

The creature in front of him smiled wide, horrid and indignant, crumbling in bits an pieces along false hope and sentiments, maggots crawled out of deteriorating eyes and from the corners of its mouth, copper and vile dripped out. Husk moved away in disgust, clear in his reasoning, but he couldn't avoid the hold of chilly talons that reached and pierced his skin, holding him in place, making him yowl and fight back, with strength depending on his ire. 

"You say it like you have a choice." A broken grunt while the skin on the creature peeled away, crawling over Husk, making him cringe away and fight. Trapped, always trapped and terrified. 

He woke up then_ . _

Quick and quiet, breath even regardless of the nightmare that plagued his mind under the pretense of a sweet dream, his breath got caught in his throat and he coughed, mildly disoriented if nothing else. He wasn't tired, not at all, on the contrary, he felt well rested and rejuvenated, like he did every night since he began to play into Alastor's hand. _ His rewards, _he supposed, and he hated them. Hated them as much as he hated the other demon. 

Husk remained laying down, looking at the ceiling in his room, with frustration consuming him, even when things weren't as bleak and painful as they were since everything started, he didn't feel any less hopeless. There was nothing that could help him, no way to be free for real, Alastor's obsession was yet to show signs of wavering, and by those, his hell continued, progressed and grew. Eating at him little by little, in a way, specially when he felt as his lowest, Husk found himself wishing he had continued to insult and resist the 'courting' efforts of the Radio Demon, just to give him a reason to keep torturing him, fueling his distaste of him and not attempt to condition him into returning his sick affections. 

The cat demon trembled and sighed, lingering fake sweetness making his heart flutter as he tried to burn it with the scourge of his hatred. He despised this, the manipulation of his feelings, the mark they left in him, how, terrifyingly but certainly, they consumed his true emotions and resolutions. The dreams were just an illusion, but each time they felt more like a reality, tender memories he adored, and Husk feared one day he wouldn't be able to get rid of them. That the fire of his distaste will turn into ashes of a far off inferno that served as his own cautionary tale, the reminder of the abyss that accompanied Alastor horrid excuse of 'love'. 

He let out a last shuddering huff as he stood up, willing himself to start with his responsibilities and use them as a distraction, and also look for a drink, something strong that made bitterness drown him. He wouldn't be able to get wasted, though, being a week away from the yearly extermination had proven to be a good source of a bunch of stuff to do, with the princess nervous and adamant about the development of their services to the utmost of their capabilities, and by those, rendering him incapable of drinking as much as he would want, but at least it got compensated by allowing him to focus on other things that his own demons. 

Besides, he was a better conversational partner for Niffty when he was sober, and that was the last thing he could do for her. It was obvious that the cyclops had been getting progressively more stressed, despite of what she insisted to say whenever he asked, and that hearing her rant about chores, not-good-guests and the newest recipe she wanted to try, helped, even for just a bit. Pretending to not feel so shitty, if only to see the worry plaguing his friend disappear for a second, felt incredibly worth it. 

With that as motivation, Husk put his hat on and marched towards the door, feeling like a soldier that was going to fight a war. The comparison made a smirk full of irony curve his lips. 

Maybe he would step into a landmine and be put out of his misery. 

[...] 

Time flew by while he worked through his shift, between signing up the newest batch of assholes, giving directions to the fuckers that still couldn't find their way around and arguing why _ the stupid ass complains against the hotel policies were not going to be received, _his day was going mildly uneventful and his mood was actually thriving thanks to it. In that moment, Husk was just watching Niffty put up some decorations that the princess had acquired with the purpose of welcoming the Heaven ambassadors that were scheduled to arrive two days before the extermination, to pick up the sinners that were fully 'redeemed', and also to lend the things necessary to mark and ward off the hotel during the event. 

The cheerful demeanor on the tiny demon was pretty similar to what Husk was used in seeing from her, and that helped to ease some of his worry, making a bit of cheer squirm out of his sour mood. He was just settling down against the countertop in his workplace when his surroundings appeared to wrap slightly, being tinted with red and ringing with static, feeling arms wrapping around his waist and a nose settle against the crook of his neck. Husk furr bristled and he grimaced, flaring his wings back to hit the creature holding him, the presence at his back disappeared and a second later he was face to face with the amused smile and gleaming red eyes of the Radio Demon. 

He hissed, moving back to put some space between the two, using the presence of the desk to his advantage, Alastor chuckled goodnaturedly and straightened himself "Ah, it seems you are quiet frisky today, darling!" 

"Go fuck yourself" He growled, glaring at the smug bastard, the semblance of a good mood going away definitely "What the fuck do you want now?" 

"Now, now, you know really well I'm not fond of those sort of… activities" The deer demon furrowed his eyebrows, slightly peeved, before his expression smoothed out once more "And, you see, I've found myself aching to see you for a bit, my life is always so much more entertaining when you are around!" When his performance only granted him an unimpressed scowl, he deflated slightly, making a placating gesture "I suppose there's no harm in admitting I was also planning on informing you of our next, ah, 'outing'."

"Of _ fucking _ course" The gesture that accompanied the last word made Husk raise a brow in confusion and when the silence stretched out without the other creature explaining himself, he sighed tiredly "Fine, I will bite, why did you use damned quote marks in the end?" 

"Observant as always" The pleased tone that tainted the 'praise' only made Husk shiver in distaste, Alastor smiled more sharply "Alas, to answer your question! That would be because while I'm taking you out, I intend for us to dine on the comfort of my sweet home" Excitement dripped into his every movement "I'm quite sure our relationship is ready for such an important step! And I'm sure you-" 

_ "No." _

The answer was quick, forceful and definitive, Husk's expression stern and unwavering, upsetting in all regards to Alastor, but the winged cat couldn't care less. 

He was willing to give his arm to bend when it came down to accompany the idiot to almost anywhere else, the cinema, a casino or some fancy ass restaurant… whatever, but he was _ not _going to set foot on the freaky mansion owned by the creep. Hell fucking no. 

Being out was safe, it didn't matter if they ended up in the turf or establishment of one of the Radio Demon allies or loyal goons, he always had the opportunity to pretend he had the freedom to set off if he ever felt threatened. But inside the monster's den? 

There was no way Husk could make it out of there, not unless Alastor allowed it. And Husk wasn't stupid enough to believe that he would settle down for some flimsy dinner and the pretense of minor domesticity, not when Husk continued to reject his attempts of closeness and contact. 

Alastor blinked, annoyance blooming inside of him "Pardon?" 

"I know you fucking heard me" The cat demon rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest and baring his teeth "I'm not going to your fucking house, pick somewhere else if you are so desperate to keep up this 'dating' bullshit." 

"I see…" Alastor almost frowned, lips contorting in a way that was still discernible as a smile and yet not, intimidating and weird and horrid, Husk did the possible to not be too affected by it, he wasn't going to give in about this one "I understand this might have appeared sudden for you, Husker, but I can assure you is a pretty acceptable step for our relationship! Surely we can…" 

"Stop your delusional babbling right there! " The winged cat hit the table with one of his paws to emphasize his point "This isn't me being shy or difficult towards this pseudo-relationship you insist we have, it's the establishment of some fucking boundaries, because I'm not stupid and I would be an idiot if I trusted you."

Alastor hummed, static marking his vocalization lightly "It's a shame you think that way, beloved, I was so sure we were making progress" The deer demon feigned a lament, sighing in defeat and tired resignation, fake and distasteful, dangerous "And I will feel terrible if you force everything to how it used to be." 

The clear threat made him recoil and growl in indignation "I don't give a shit! Want to play the waiting game again? Go right the fuck ahead, let's see how long we can make it last." 

They stared at each other, silence deafening and tension palpable in the air, the growing sense of danger proving that the situation was straying further to where Alastor wanted to take it, and that was just fucking fantastic for Husk, so he merely waited, almost with baited breath, to see if this will become another flimsy victory of his. 

As faith would have it, that wasn't going to be the case. 

"You are awfully difficult sometimes, love, it would do you well to look more after your well-being or…" When Husk was getting ready to snark a reply, he continued "Look out for Niffty" That made the cat demon clench his jaw painfully, a mistake on his part, considering the way Alastor smiled, like the game was turning back in his favor "Poor darling has been so stressed lately with all her responsibilities at the hotel… it would be terrible to have her worry about you once more, wouldn't it? Health is so finicky, after all! It could be tragic to push it too far." 

He gesticulated with clarity and promise, an obvious warning that made hatred flare in Husk's chest, protectiveness and guilt drowning him little by little, _ how dare he? How fucking dare he!? _"Don't drag her into this!" 

He felt trapped, the possibility of victory quickly snatched away from him, condemned for sure. 

"Ah, but that's on your hands, is it not?" The call was mocking, cruel, full of sick joy that made his skin crawl "What do you say, then, sweet Husk?" 

The words rested heavily at the tip of his tongue, feeling like burning embers, unyielding and wrong, but Husk couldn't bring himself to change them. 

_ For Niffty, _ he consoled pathetically, seeing her move around, bright and beautiful and well. _ For Niffty. _

"At what damned time are you going to pick me up?" 

The way the deer demon smirked, voracious and promising, made uneasiness crash through him in waves "Same time as always, dearest." 

[...] 

Alastor had showed up right on time like he always did, Husk had felt tempted to ditch him at the last minute and hide away in the most obscure bar he could find, but he couldn't find it in himself to risk Niffty for his cowardice, he was taking one for the team, and he was going to do it with dignity and 'til the end. That was also the main reason why he was managing to keep his composure and a sense of mild civility going on, continuing with the chit-chat the Radio Demon was making and not showcasing any of his despair even after they moved past the gates that signaled the start of Alastor's property. 

When they closed with finality, making the slightest of sounds, Husk couldn't stop his ears from going flat against his head, in obvious synchrony with his terrified mood. _ This was it. _He felt like cattle willingly walking into the slaughterhouse, waiting for judgement but still unknowing of what it was going to be or when would it reach him, and that lack of knowledge was probably the worst part of everything.

Distantly, while he tuned out Alastor's prattle for a moment, he wondered if this was the way the victims of the Radio Demon felt like, his enemies and the few foolish souls that were tricked into coming to this place. He wondered if they were also consumed by fear and paranoia, or if they got distracted by the sheer amount of elegance and power displayed in the edification that was Alastor's manor, distracted and uncaring until they were being torn apart under a crooked smile and gleaming ruby eyes. 

Husk shuddered and averted his gaze from the portrait he had been looking at, a woman, human, of a sweet smile and cute face, _ important, _ if he could trust the description made by the other demon, strangely pleased and _ fond _ for the tone he had used, not that it mattered much, he supposed. He had more pressing matters to focus on, like avoiding being too caught up watching decorations he already mildly knew or become too focused on his thoughts to the point he wouldn't notice if Alastor decided to try anything with him _ and… _

Yeah. 

He shook his head lightly, eyes fixated in front of him as he came back to his surroundings, noting they had already reached the doors towards the dining room, peachy, just great. For a second, Husk allowed himself to hold onto the possibility that all of this was truly going to end with just food and talk, he discarded the thought immediately after, recognizing it as ridiculous. Focus. 

"And here we are!" The words were accompanied by a dramatic movement of hand, as the doors of the place opened up slowly to show a big table surrounded by tall pillars and picture windows, food of various types already in place and waiting or being set down by familiars. It was everything Husk had expected it to be, heavily decorated and shining, but with a hue of privacy and grandeur. 

He wasn't exactly impressed, so he merely frowned in recognition of the place. The lack of reaction didn't appear to bother Alastor in the slightest, he settled a hand on the small of his back and began to move him forward, talking and presenting the dishes that he had personally prepared for the evening, from his traditional cuisine to a few of the plates Husk liked the most and some he had never heard of. It was a _ lot. _ A complete exaggeration and proof of wealth, and, he supposed attention to detail and to _ him. _ But he still didn't know how to feel about it. 

Husk didn't want to feel impressed or cared for, nor did he want to feel anything but angry acceptance and tired resignation, so he decanted himself for quiet acknowledgement and unamused distaste. Discernable and well trained, he centered himself in the food and how it tasted, settling down and digging in after Alastor had taken the first bite. He couldn't really deny the talent the Radio Demon had in the kitchen and how he appreciated that a whole lot, and his mood improved a small bit thanks to it. 

Their verbal exchanges progressed, soft but harsh and fast, fun and enlightening even if gritty as times, pretty okay compared to any of their other dates, or interactions as a whole. It was nice… not worrying so much, about not doing what was demanded or requested of him, of being taken into account, feeling accounted for even if he wasn't needed. 

The moment they were done with their multitude of servings and dishes, Alastor's minions came back, picking everything up while their master sighed contently, receiving a bottle of expensive wine that Husk had seen only once or twice in his life, all of them here and owned by the same person, Husk frowned, eyeing the object suspiciously and wondering what was its purpose on that evening.

"What a better way to finish a marvelous dinner than with some fine wine, right, dear?" The statement was playful and completely honest, it almost made his emotions of anger die out. Even before he answered, the deer demon was already pouring two cups, full to the brim and with a wonderful appearance, offering one of them to Husk. 

"You're goddamn right" Husk conceded, grabbing the glass offered to him, smelling it a bit to ensure some of its quality and catching the smile of something dangerous on Alastor's grin, he grew suspicious, but when he didn't managed to catch the taste of anything out of the ordinary after taking a small sample, he shrugged. 

"Is something the matter, Husker?" Alastor asked him after some time, honest and yet not, watching at his every movement like he was expecting… something. 

"Not really, I guess" Husk scowled, unable to find something to be particularly upset about but feeling like he should. This whole thing just seemed… odd, far too normal. 

Nothing that included Alastor was ever normal. 

Seeing his hesitation, the deer demon smiled encouragingly, giving a long sip to his own cup and then raising it towards him, as an act of good fade. It didn't help to put Husk at ease, but it made his reasonings to deny the drink a lot flimsier, at the very least that proved that nothing weird has been made to the beverage. 

Giving one last hard look at his glass, he shrugged again, figuring that nothing too bad could come out of him enjoying some nice alcohol, and so, he started to drink. The flavor was sweet and rich against his tongue, really similar to what he remembered, he found himself relaxing despite better judgement, taking measured sips and getting more comfortable on his seat, movements becoming progressively more slow and languid. When Husk started to feel that it was harder to take another sip, he become weirded out, because that wasn't supposed to happen, this sudden weakness.

When the frustrated growl he tried to make didn't come out either, he felt a small pang of panic. 

He became aware of the growing numbness spreading through his body, rendering him useless, he couldn't muster the slightlest twitch or nudge on any of his limbs, barely managing to look towards the amused form of the Radio Demon, still enjoying his drink like nothing was happening, a groan, tiny and pathetic, finally made it out of his throat. Red eyes squinted at him, mocking. 

"Oh, Husker, you are looking awfully tired" Alastor put down his cup, humming and standing up from his chair and walking towards him, Husk couldn't even raise his head to continue glaring at him. He couldn't glare at all. 

A soft breath "What…" Quiet words, full of misery, hatred "What did you do to me?" 

"Hm? Me?" The Radio Demon looked down at him, resting against the side of his chair and setting one of his hands against his cheek, moving it so they were looking eye to eye "I didn't do anything, beloved. Rosie's little concoction, on the other hand…" He stretched forward and grabbed his forgotten wine glass "Helped to relax you a bit." 

Husk felt like the air was punched out of him, quick and unforgiving, pulse quickening, mind being consumed by desperate terror. _ No. _

_ No no no no. No! _

His expression continued the same, relaxed, uncaring, he tried to fight, to holler insults and threats, but no matter what he did, or what he tried to do, his body remained the same. Calm, collected, horribly defenseless. 

Above him, Alastor smiled like a wolf. 

"Come now, this is no place for you to rest!" The comment carried a disgusting amount of satisfaction, that did nothing but grow as Alastor stood up and took hold of him, cradling him against his chest "Let's head to somewhere more… private." 

Husk howled inside his head, clawing at his own consciousness and demanding it to do something, anything, to save him from this nightmare. But as they continued to move down the corridors of that hellish place, he found himself despairing, completely terrified. He felt Alastor's warmth surrounding him completely, the vibrations of his chest as he sang quietly for him, and he hated it. Hated him. 

Fully and strongly. 

They reached a bedroom, but Husk was unable to grasp many traits out of it, eyes half-lidded as he was put down on the covers of a big and plush bed, incredibly comfortable, he wanted to shudder, again, nothing happened. His body just remained there, soft and willing. 

After some minutes, he felt the mattress dip and hands being put back on him, rearranging him like he was some fucking doll, Alastor appeared from the corner of his eye, giving a small kiss to his cheek and getting comfortable, holding him impossibly close and settling against the crook of his neck, breathing in deeply and nuzzling against him, sighing contently. 

"You are always so shy when it comes to this, beloved" He started, with hurt and pleasure holding his every word, letting his hand roam down the chest and hips of the other demon, feeling, touching, enjoying the closeness and the way Husk reacted, pliant and beautiful under his hands "But now you are accepting me so well, being so sweet for me" A small peck placed on one of the shoulders "I've ached so long for this, for you.

"It's a shame you don't get to correspond me right now, but…" Static dripped out of him, guttural and intense, and he gave a small bite to the place where he had kissed "Later, surely, you will. We have all the time in the world now, after all. 

" You're mine now."

Husk screamed, but no sound came out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another mess, ahhh! Thank you for reading, and as always, kudos and comments are always appreciated!


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